• 


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ABCOFIRON 


BY 

CHAS.  W.  S1SSON. 


LOUISVILLE,  KY.: 

PRESS  OF  THE  COURIER-JOURNAL  JOB  PRINTING  CO. 
1893 


COPYRIGHTED,  i 

BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


ELECTROTYPED  AND  PRINTED 

BY 
COURIER-JOURNAL  JOB  PRINTING  CO. 


CONTENTS. 


IRON— WHAT  IS  IT? 

A  description   of  the  metal  and  its  uses,  showing:  in  what  combinations  it  is  found  and  the 
principal  sources. 


PIG  IRON. 
An  account  of  the  blast  furnace  process  by  which  the  ores  are  reduced  to  pig  irorv 


CONSTITUENTS  OF  IRON. 

A  description  of  the  elements  in  pig  metal  which  influence  cast  iron.    Described  in  chapters  on 

CARBON  IN  CAST  IRON.  PHOSPHORUS  IN  CAST  IRON. 

SILICON  IN  CAST  IRON.  MANGANESE  IN  CAST  IRON. 

SULPHUR  IN  CAST  IRON. 


NUMBERING  OF  PIG  IRON. 

Showing  the  character  and  analysis  of  different  grades  of  pig  iron,  appearance  of  fracture  and 
the  uses  to  which  the  several  grades  are  adapted. 


GRADING  OF  IRON. 
Should  it  be  by  analysis  or  by  fracture? 


HOW  TO  REDUCE  COST  OF  MIXTURE. 


STEEL. 


PHYSICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  METALS  DEFINED. 
Table  of  shrinkage  of  castings.     Weights  of  castings  from  patterns,  etc. 


STATISTICS. 

Showyig  rhe  varieties  and  production  of  iron  ore,  pig  iron,  pig  iron  and  steel  products,  rail- 
road mileage  and  equipment,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 


EARLY  HISTORY  AND  MANUFACTURE  OF  IRON. 

Brief  history  of  the  manufacture  and  uses  of  iron  from  earliest  times,  being  principally  extracts 
from  Mr.  James  M.  Swank's  "  HISTORY  OF  IRON  IN  ALL  AGES." 


INTRODUCTORY. 


There  is  nothing  so  essential  for  a  foundryman  to  understand  as 
the  action  which  the  different  elements  in  pig  iron  have  on  his  product. 
Manufacturers  now  realize  that  pig  iron  is  not  a  simple  substance,  but 
is  in  reality  an  alloy  compound  of  a  number  of  elements  very  dissim- 
ilar;  that  its  physical  characteristics,  strength,  elasticity,  etc.,  depend 
upon  the  percentages  of  these  elements. 

Greater  knowledge  is  being  sought  concerning  the  chemical  ques- 
tions involved  in  foundry  practice,  and  as  this  knowledge  is  resulting 
in  the  production  of  better  and  cheaper  material,  it  becomes  necessary 
for  the  foundryman  who  would  successfully  meet  competition  to  study 
this  well.  No  foundryman  can  afford  to  be  ignorant  of  the  nature  and 
properties  of  iron  if  he  expects  to  overcome  the  numerous  emergen- 
cies that  beset  every  melter  of  pig  iron. 

The  increasing  inquiries  on  these  subjects  suggested  the  publica- 
tion of  this  book. 

Learned  discussions  are  had  on  these  subjects  before  societies  and 
mechanical  institutions,  and  papers  are  written  on  special  subjects 
which  are  reproduced  in  piece-meal  in  our  trade  papers  and  journals. 
Only  few,  however,  have  the  opportunity  or  can  afford  to  attend  the 
meetings  of  these  societies,  and  the  majority  do  not  get  to  see  their 
transactions  published. 

There  are  very  valuable  works  published  on  the  metallurgy  of 
iron  and  steel,  but  they  are  voluminous  and  technical,  and  for  this 
reason  very  discouraging  for  a  beginner.  The  author  has  endeavored 
in  the  A  B  C  of  Iron,  to  place  before  the  public  such  information  as 
all  foundrymen  should  possess,  in  a  plain,  condensed  form,  hoping  that 

(5) 


6  INTRODUCTORY. 

those  who  read  it  will  be  assisted  in  their  desire  to  master  their 
business. 

The  chapters  relating  to  Constituents  of  Iron  are  made  up  of 
gleanings  from  the  writings  and  publications  by  authorities  on  these 
subjects,  and  from  personal  investigation.  Except  where  extended 
quotations  are  given,  no  mention  is  made  of  the  authority,  for  the 
reason  that  often  it  became  necessary  to  change  the  language  to  have 
it  simple  and  readily  understood. 

The  author  is  indebted  for  information  to  Howe's  "  Metallurgy  of 
Steel;"  the  papers  of  Mr.W.  J.  Keep,  of  the  Michigan  Stove  Company; 
to  Major  Edward  Doud,  C.  E.,  Port  Henry,  New  York;  to  "The 
Journal  of  the  Iron  and  Steel  Institute  ; "  Bloxam's  Chemistry,  numer- 
ous other  works,  and  to  practical  foundrymen. 

Beside  the  chapters  relating  to  the  chemical  qualities  of  iron  and 
the  source  of  supply  and  process  by  which  the  ores  are  reduced  to  pig 
iron,  the  other  contents  are  inserted  as  being  of  value  and  interest. 

The  statistics  compiled  from  undoubted  authority,  will  be  a 
revelation  to  many,  showing  the  magnitude  and  diversity  of  the  iron 
industry  of  this  country. 


IRON-WHAT  IS  IT? 


Iron  is  a  metal.  Bloxam  tells  us  that  "a  metal  is  an 
element  capable  of  forming  a  base  by  combining  with 
oxygen."  These  compounds  of  elements  with  oxygen 
are  called  oxides.  The  Latin  word  for  iron  isferum,  and 
the  chemical  symbol  for  it  is  Fe.  The  oxides  of  iron  are 
spoken  of  as  ferric  oxide,  or  ferrous  oxides,  the  termina- 
tion of  ous  signifying  that  there  is  a  less  proportion  of 
oxygen. 

Iron  is  found  in  almost  all  forms  of  rock,  clay  and 
earth,  and  its  presence  is  shown  by  their  colors,  iron 
being  one  of  the  commonest  of  natural  mineral  coloring 
ingredients.  We  find  it  in  small  proportions  in  plants 
and  in  larger  quantities  in  the  bodies  of  animals,  especially 
in  the  blood,  which  is  said  to  contain  about  0.5  per  cent. 
of  iron,  imparting  its  color. 

Except  in  the  case  of  meteorites,  large  metallic 
masses  which  occasionally  fall  to  the  earth,  sometimes 
of  enormous  size  and  of  unknown  origin,  iron  is  not  found 
in  the  metallic  state. 

The  chief  forms  of  combination  in  which  iron  is  found 
available  as  sources  of  the  metal,  are  in  the  different 
varieties  of  the  ores  of  iron.  By  ores  of  iron  we  mean 

(7) 


THE    A    D    C    OF    IRON. 

those  mineral  masses  or  beds  which  contain  sufficient 
metal  to  justify  smelting.  Ores  of  iron  are  not  consid- 
ered rich  unless  they  contain  50  per  cent,  of  metal,  and 
those  containing  less  than  30  per  cent,  are  rarely  smelted. 

There  are  many  varieties  of  iron  ore,  but  they  are 
generally  classified  under  four  general  divisions,  viz. :  red 
hematite,  brown  hematite,  magnetite,  and  carbonate  ores, 
and  in  quantity  mined  rank  in  the  order  named.  The 
production  of  red  hematite  in  1890,  according  to  the 
census  for  that  year,  was  66^  per  cent,  of  all  the  ore 
mined;  the  quantity  of  magnetite  and  brown  hematite 
being  about  equal,  or  16  per  cent,  each  of  the  total,  while 
the  carbonates  were  only  about  2^/3  per  cent,  of  the 
whole  product.  A  table  showing  the  production  of  the 
several  varieties  mined  in  each  State  during  1890,  will 
be  found  in  these  pages.  These  ores  all  contain  impurities 
such  as  sulphur,  phosphorus,  etc.,  which  have  great 
influence  on  the  quality  of  the  iron  and  determine,  to  a 
great  extent,  the  value  of  the  ores. 

The  ores  of  iron  are  used  for  flux  in  smelting  furnaces 
producing  precious  metals,  and  for  the  manufacture  of 
paints.  It  is  also  used  as  a  fix,  lining  for  heating  and 
puddling  furnaces ;  but  the  principal  use  to  which  they 
are  put  is  the  production  of  pig  iron  by  smelting  the  ores 
in  blast  furnaces.  We  will  describe  briefly  this  process 
in  the  succeeding  chapter. 

The  high  position  which  iron  occupies  among  the 
useful  metals  is  owing  to  a  combination  of  valuable 


IRON WHAT   IS   IT?  9 

qualities  not  found  in  any  other  metal.  We  find  in 
Bloxam's  Chemistry,  the  following  description : 

"  Although  possessing  nearly  twice  as  great  tenacity 
or  strength  as  the  strongest  of  the  other  metals  common- 
ly used  in  the  metallic  state,  it  is  yet  one  of  the  lightest, 
and  is,  therefore,  particularly  well  adapted  for  the  con- 
struction of  bridges  and  large  edifices,  as  well  as  for 
ships  and  carriages.  It  is  the  least  yielding  or  malleable 
of  the  metals  in  common  use,  and  can,  therefore,  be 
relied  upon  for  a  rigid  support;  and  yet  its  ductility  is 
such  that  it  admits  of  being  rolled  into  the  thinnest 
sheets  and  drawn  into  the  finest  wire,  the  strength  of 
which  is  so  great  that  a  wire  of  i-io  inch  in  diameter  is 
able  to  sustain  705  pounds,  while  a  similar  wire  of  copper, 
which  stands  next  in  order  of  tenacity,  will  not  support 
more  than  385  pounds.  It  is,  with  the  exception  of  plat- 
inum, the  least  fusible  of  useful  metals  and  therefore 
applicable  to  the  construction  of  fire-grates  and  furnaces. 

"  Its  qualifications  are  not  all  dependent  on  its  phys- 
ical properties,  for  it  not  only  enters  into  a  great  number 
of  compounds  which  are  of  the  utmost  use  in  the  arts, 
but  its  chemical  relations  to  one  of  the  metallic  elements, 
carbon,  are  such  that  the  addition  of  a  small  quantity  of 
this  element  converts  iron  into  steel  far  surpassing  iron  in 
the  valuable  properties  of  hardness  and  elasticity,  where- 
as a  larger  quantity  of  carbon  gives  rise  to  cast  iron, 
the  greater  fusibility  of  which  permits  it  to  be  molded 
into  vessels  and  shapes  which  could  not  be  produced  by 


IO  THE    ABC    OF    IRON. 

forging."  Perhaps  the  finest  description  of  iron  is  found 
in  Ures  Dictionary  of  Arts,  Manufactures  and  Mines: 

"  Every  person  knows  the  manifold  uses  of  this  truly 
precious  metal.  It  is  capable  of  being  cast  into  molds 
of  any  form ;  of  being  drawn  out  into  wires  of  any  de- 
sired strength  or  fineness ;  of  being  extended  into  plates 
or  sheets ;  of  being  bent  in  every  direction ;  of  being 
sharpened,  hardened  and  softened  at  pleasure. 

"  Iron  accommodates  itself  to  all  our  wants,  our  desires 
and  even  our  caprices.  It  is  equally  serviceable  to  the 
arts,  the  sciences,  to  agriculture  and  war.  The  same  ore 
furnishes  the  sword,  the  ploughshare,  the  scythe,  the 
pruning  hook,  the  needle,  the  graver,  the  spring  of  a 
watch  or  of  a  carriage,  the  chisel,  the  chain,  the  anchor, 
the  compass,  the  cannon  and  the  bomb.  It  is  a  medicine 
of  much  virtue,  and  the  only  metal  friendly  to  the  human 
frame." 

What  we  have  to  deal  with  particularly  in  this  book 
is  the  product  of  the  blast  furnace — pig  iron.  Five 
elements  enter  into  all  pig  iron,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  and  in  some  varieties  are  found  tungsten,  and 
chromium,  and  also  copper,  but  with  these  we  have  rarely 
to  deal. 

After  a  brief  account  of  the  process  by  which  the 
ores  are  reduced  to  pig  iron,  we  will  consider,  in  the  order 
named,  the  effect  these  five  elements — carbon,  silicon, 
phosphorus,  manganese  and  sulphur — have  upon  castings 
made  from  pig  metal. 


PIG  IRON. 


AN    ACCOUNT    OF    THE    BLAST    FURNACE    PROCESS    BY    WHICH 
THE    ORES    ARE    REDUCED    TO    PIG    IRON. 

The  modern  blast  furnace  is  supposed  to  have  origi- 
nated in  the  Rhine  provinces  about  the  beginning  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  but  whether  in  France,  Germany  or 
Belgium  is  not  clear.  One  hundred  years  later,  in  1409, 
there  was  a  blast  furnace  in  the  valley  of  Massavaux,  in 
France,  and  it  is  claimed  by  Landrin  that  there  were 
many  blast  furnaces  in  France  about  1450.  The  exact 
date  of  the  erection  of  the  first  blast  furnace  in  England 
is  unknown,  but  it  was  along  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
The  first  attempt  to  make  pig  iron  in  the  United  States 
was  in  1645,  at  Lynn,  Massachusetts.  We  see,  therefore, 
that,  although  iron  melted  by  charcoal  in  the  old  Catalan 
forges  was  used  many  hundreds  of  years  ago,  cast  iron 
or  pig  iron  is  of  comparative  recent  origin,  and  may  be 
said  is  yet  in  its  infancy. 

In  the  reduction  of  the  ores  the  fuel  may  be  charcoal, 
coke,  block  coal  or  anthracite  coal.  Charcoal  is  freer 
from  impurities  than  any  of  the  fuels  and  has  been  used 
from  the  earliest  times.  Experiments  were  begun  in 
1630  with  coal  and  coke,  but  it  was  not  until  1735  that 


12  THE   A    B   C    OF   IRON. 

any  degree  of  success  was  attained.  The  first  successful 
blast  with  coke  as  fuel  was  made  by  Abraham  Darby,  of 
Shropshire,  at  his  furnace  at  Coalbrookdale,  England,  in 
the  year  1735.  The  first  successful  manufacture  of  pig 
iron  with  anthracite  coal  was  by  George  Crane,  an  Eng- 
lishman, at  Yniscedirin,  in  Wales,  in  1837.  The  blast 
used  in  furnaces  was  cold,  until  1825,  when  James  Beau- 
mont, of  Scotland,  invented  the  hot  blast  now  in  general 
use  all  over  the  world.  In  order  to  separate  the  extrane- 
ous matter  usually  contained  in  a  furnace  charge  of  ore 
and  reducing  agent,  certain  materials  must  be  added  to 
form  slags.  These  materials  are  known  as  fluxes. 
Limestone  constitutes  the  bulk  of  fluxing  used  by  the 
blast  furnace.  The  slags  of  a  blast  furnace  are  its 
refuse,  and  are  formed  by  a  combination  of  silica  with 
the  earths  and  metallic  oxides.  They  are  used,  if  not 
too  glassy,  for  macadamizing  roads ;  it  makes  an  excel- 
lent railroad  ballast,  as  the  mass  is  very  permeable  and 
keeps  the  sleepers  dry.  It  is  also  used  in  making  brick 
and  cement. 

It  is  not  within  the  province  of  this  book  to  give  an 
elaborate  or  detailed  description  of  the  blast  furnace,  but 
we  will  briefly  describe,  without  technicalities,  how  iron 
is  separated  from  its  ores. 

Strictly  pure  iron  ore  is  metallic  iron  and  oxygen  in 
chemical  union  in  fixed  and  known  proportions  ;  the 
most  common  being  that  of  peroxide,  which  is  70  per 
cent,  of  iron  to  30  per  cent,  of  oxygen  by  weight. 


PIG    IRON.  13 

Iron  ores,  as  mined,  consist  of  various  combinations 
of  iron,  oxygen,  phosphorus,  sulphur,  carbonate  of  lime, 
carbonate  of  magnesia,  silica,  alumina,  and  sometimes 
water,  manganese,  titanic  acid,  etc. 

It  is  the  office  of  the  blast  furnace  to  separate  the 
iron  from  the  other  materials.  Since  chemically  pure 
iron  is  not  used  in  the  arts,  such  is  not  sought,  nor  could 
it  be  produced  in  the  blast  furnace.  Commercial  pig  iron 
usually  contains  92  to  94  per  cent,  of  pure  iron  and  6  to 
8  per  cent,  of  impurities. 

The  presence  or  absence  of  these  impurities  in  vary- 
ing proportions  give  to  pig  iron  its  varying  characteristics, 
suiting  it  to  widely  varying  uses.  Upon  the  proper 
composition  of  the  impurities  depends  the  grade  and 
value  of  the  pigs. 

The  highest  skill  of  the  iron  master  is  exerted  to 
secure  the  best  possible  composition,  varying  the  com- 
position to  suit  the  various  uses  of  his  patrons. 

The  chief  components  of  the  impurities  are  carbon, 
silicon,  phosphorus,  sulphur  and  manganese. 

The  reduction  of  the  oxide  of  iron  by  withdrawing 
the  oxygen,  the  simultaneous  carburisation  of  the  result- 
ant metal  and  the  fluxing  of  the  various  earths  entering 
the  furnace  with  the  oxide  of  iron  and  carbon,  are  accom- 
plished by  the  use  of  the  laws  of  chemical  affinities. 
This  use  may  be  empirical  or  intelligent.  The  former 
was  the  method  of  the  past,  sometimes  even  now  disas- 
trously lingering  in  the  lap  of  the  present.  The  latter  is 


14  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

alone  in  accord  with  the  spirit  of  to-day,  and  is  soon  to 
be  the  sole  method  of  the  future.  These  affinities  are 
absolute  and  positive,  and  the  skillful  furnace  manager 
handles  them  in  full  confidence,  dividing,  adding  and  sub- 
tracting as  an  accountant  does  his  figures. 

All  solid  materials  enter  the  furnace  at  the  top  in 
carefully  considered  mixtures,  determined  by  analyses  to 
conform  to  fixed  chemical  laws.  The  air  equaling  or 
exceeding  the  combined  weight  of  the  solid  materials 
alone,  enters  near  the  bottom.  The  furnace  being  full 
and  in  action,  is  found  to  divide  into  the  following  zones  : 
Beginning  at  the  bottom  we  have  first  the  hearth,  which 
is  for  receiving  and  holding  the  liquid  mass  until  con- 
venient intervals  for  tapping  or  drawing  out.  Very  little 
chemical  action  occurs  here.  The  molten  mass  quietly 
rests  and  the  iron  separates  from  the  slag  by  specific 
gravity.  Next  comes  the  zone  of  gassification.  Into 
this  zone  is  introduced  the  blast,  previously  heated  to  a 
temperature  of  900  to  1,500°  Fah.,  and  is  driven  in 
under  a  pressure  of  five  to  ten  pounds  per  square  inch, 
and  at  the  rate  of  three  and  one-quarter  to  six  tons  for 
each  ton  of  iron  made. 

The  oxygen  of  the  blast  coming  into  direct  contact 
with  the  incandescent  carbon  of  the  fuel,  gassification  of 
the  carbon  rapidly  follows,  so  rapidly  indeed  that  each 
atom  of  carbon  takes  from  the  air  the  smallest  amount 
of  oxygen  necessary  for  gassification.  That  is,  one  atom 
of  oxygen  for  each  atom  of  carbon.  This  action  is  not 


PIG    IRON.  15 

confined  to  the  oxygen  of  the  air ;  it  extends  to  any 
other  oxygen  available. 

Next  above  the  zone  of  gassification  is  the  zone  of 
fusion,  in  which  chiefly  occurs  the  reduction  of  the  solids, 
excepting  ash  of  the  fuel,  to  liquids.  Above  the  zone 
of  fusion  is  the  zone  of  reduction  and  carbon  impregna- 
tion. This  should  occupy  a  very  large  part  of  the  body 
of  the  furnace. 

Thus,  the  furnace  is  divided  into  three  zones,  which, 
however,  have  no  definite  limits,  but  insensibly  merge 
one  into  the  other.  Nor  is  it  to  be  understood  that  the 
offices  attributed  to  these  zones  severally  is  confined 
within  them. 

Perhaps  nine-tenths  of  the  carbon  is  volatilized  in 
the  zone  of  gassification  and  the  balance  in  the  zone  of 
reduction,  to  which  is  added  the  oxygen  from  the  ore 
and  the  carbonic  acid  from  the  limestone,  chiefly  in  the 
zone  of  reduction,  the  furnace  producing  gas  throughout 
its  entire  height. 

Nor  is  fusion  confined  to  the  so-called  zone  of  fusion, 
but  may  and  does  frequently  extend  well  into  the  zone 
of  gassification,  and  it  is  known  that  reduction  is  not 
completed  and  the  last  of  the  oxygen  does  not  leave  the 
ore  until  it  is  well  into  the  zone  of  fusion. 

The  gasses  leave  the  zone  of  combustion,  that  is 
gassification  at  a  temperature  of  3,500  to  4,000°  Fah. 
As  they  ascend  the  heat  is  transferred  to  the  descending 
materials  to  such  an  extent  that  the  gasses  pass  out  of 


1 6  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

the  top  of  the  furnace  with  only  300  to  500°  Fah.  As 
the  escaping  gas  weighs  much  more  than  the  materials 
charged,  and  as  their  specific  heat  does  not  materially 
differ,  the  gas  itself  could  impart  sufficient  sensible  heat 
to  raise  the  stock  to  the  hearth  temperature  were  the 
absorptions  and  generations  of  heat  due  to  intervening 
chemical  reactions  equal. 

As  it  is,  however,  it  will  be  seen  how  perfectly  a 
furnace  acts  as  a  regenerator,  and  how  small  a  heat-waste 
there  may  be  in  a  furnace  well  conducted.  Beginning  at 
the  zone  of  gassification  and  ascending  through  the 
furnace  we  find  the  descending  materials  always  just  a 
little  lower  in  temperature  than  the  ascending  column  of 
gas  at  each  successive  stage  ;  presenting  by  far  the  most 
favorable  conditions  for  heat  transfer,  where  the  succes- 
sive lowering  of  the  gas  temperature  is  met  by  still 
cooler  materials  to  further  reduce  the  waste,  and  even 
in  the  most  rapid  furnace-driving  this  valuable  conser- 
vation of  heat  is  not  over-hastened  for  the  best  and 
ultimate  economy,  for  at  least  several  hours  must  elapse 
while  each  particle  of  the  stock  is  descending  to  the 
hearth. 

Following  the  ores  as  they  enter  the  furnace,  they  are 
first  dried  and  heated  by  meeting  the  hot  gases.  As 
soon  as  they  have  reached  a  sufficient  temperature  the 
ore  begins  to  part  with  its  oxygen  to  the  carbonic  oxide 
forming  carbonic  acid.  Carbonic  acid  is  also  eliminated 
from  the  limestone,  and  sometimes  from  the  ores,  and 


PIG    IRON.  17 

many  associations  and  desociations  occur  not  necessary 
to  trace  in  this  article. 

As  the  descending  ore  becomes  hotter  the  action 
becomes  more  rapid  until  the  most  favorable  temperature 
for  reduction  by  the  gases  is  reached  and  passed,  when 
it  proceeds  more  slowly  and  is  supposed  to  be  finally 
completed  by  contact  with  intensely  hot  solid  carbon. 
That  which  was  ore  no  longer  exists  as  ore.  Its  two 
constituents,  which,  in  chemical  union,  made  it  oxide  of 
iron,  have  been  separated,  the  oxygen  expelled  from  the 
top  of  the  furnace  while  the  iron  in  minute  particles, 
having  taken  up  about  4  per  cent,  of  its  own  weight  of 
carbon,  is  found  changed  from  oxide  of  iron  to  carbide  of 
iron,  and  is  intermingled  with  the  earths  and  other 
material.  It  remains  to  separate  the  iron  from  the  earths 
and  put  it  into  form  for  convenient  handling.  To  do  this 
the  entire  mass  is  fused  and  falls  into  the  hearth.  To 
secure  a  fusion  of  its  earths  a  process  termed  fluxing  is 
resorted  to,  based  on  the  premise  that  no  single  earth,  if 
pure,  will  melt  in  the  temperatures  ordinarily  found  in 
the  blast  furnace,  which,  while  not  strictly  true,  is  suffi- 
ciently so  for  present  purposes. 

The  earths  usually  entering  the  furnace  are  either 
acid  or  basic,  these  two  having  a  strong  affinity  for  each 
other,  and  when  brought  together  in  proper  proportions 
and  into  the  presence  of  the  high  heat  found  in  the 
fusing  iron,  readily  liquify  and  fall  with  the  liquid  iron 
into  the  hearth,  where  by  the  difference  in  their  specific 


1 8  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

gravity,  they  separate,  the  slag  floating  on  top  of  the 
iron. 

The  space  allotted  to  this  article  will  not  admit  of  an 
extended  review  of  methods  in  use  for  the  control  in 
kind  and  quantity  of  the  various  impurities  entering 
into  the  pigs. 

It  is  sufficient  to  say  that  nearly  all  of  the  phosphorus 
entering  the  furnace  is  found  in  the  iron  leaving  it,  and 
it  is  contrary  to  the  theory  of  the  blast  furnace  that  any 
of  it  can  be  eliminated.  Its  effect  is  to  make  the  iron 
cold-short. 

By  judicious  fluxing  and  management  a  limited 
amount  of  sulphur  charged  into  the  furnace  may  be 
discharged  with  the  slag,  the  iron  absorbing  but 
traces  of  this  objectionable  alloy.  The  effect  of  this 
sulphur  upon  the  iron  is  to  make  it  red-short,  and  every 
effort  of  the  manager  should  be  directed  toward  its 
elimination. 

The  percentage  of  silicon  is  controlled  by  the  tem- 
perature in  the  zone  of  combustion  and  the  character  of 
the  flux. 

The  intensity  of  the  heat  required  to  decompose 
oxide  of  silicon  is  such  that  it  is  impossible  to  conceive 
that  silicon  can  be  obtained  anywhere  in  the  blast  furnace 
except  in  the  foci  of  intense  heat  near  each  blow  pipe 
(Bell),  therefore,  the  oxide  of  silicon  must  be  brought 
into  these  foci.  The  ash  of  the  fuel  is  so  brought  in 
and  being  in  part  silica,  it  answers  the  requirement. 


PIG    IRON.  IQ 

When  the  fuel  is  high  in  silica  the  production  of  silicon 
is  facilitated. 

Likewise,  by  reason  of  inadequate  fluxing  or  other 
cause,  portions  of  the  silica  of  the  ore  and  limestone  may 
find  their  way  into  these  limited  areas  of  intense  heat 
and  contribute  silicon. 

Carbon,  as  has  been  stated,  combines  with  iron  as 
the  oxygen  leaves  it  to  the  extent  of  about  4  per  cent, 
of  its  weight. 

This  has  made  blast  furnacing  possible,  as  the  com- 
bination is  fused  at  a  much  lower  temperature  than  mal- 
leable iron  and  within  that  generated  in  the  process,  so 
that  a  liquid  manageable  metal  is  produced  which  may 
be  drawn  from  the  hearth  and  molded  into  merchantable 
form. 

Carbon  exists  in  pig  iron  as  graphitic  and  combined, 
and  the  relative  proportions  of  each  will  largely  control 
the  grade.  To  produce  iron  high  in  graphite  the  furnace 
must  be  in  a  healthy  condition,  so  that  the  materials  shall 
descend  evenly  and  regularly,  and  the  reducing  gas  as 
it  ascends  shall  come  in  contact  with  and  reduce  all  of 
the  ore  before  fusion.  A  comparatively  light  burden 
favors  the  production  of  an  increased  percentage  of  the 
reducing  gas,  and  so  favors  perfect  reduction  and  also 
carbon  deposition. 


CONSTITUENTS  OF  IRON. 


Before  describing  these  constituents  and  their  effects 
we  would  call  attention  to  Professor  Turner's  statement 
concerning  cast  iron,  which  it  will  be  well  to  remem- 
ber: 

First:  Pure  cast  iron,  i.  e.,  iron  and  carbon  only, 
even  if  attainable,  would  not  be  the  most  suitable 
material  for  use  in  the  foundry. 

Second:  That  cast  iron  containing  excessive  amounts 
of  other  constituents  is  equally  unsuitable  for  foundry 
purposes. 

Third:  That  the  ill-effects  of  one  constituent  can,  at 
best,  be  only  imperfectly  neutralized  by  the  addition  of 
another  constituent. 

Fourth :  That  there  is  a  suitable  proportion  for  each 
constituent  present  in  cast  iron.  This  proportion  depends 
upon  the  character  of  the  product  which  is  desired,  and 
upon  the  proportion  of  other  elements  present. 

Fifth :  (More  properly  coming  under  head  of  Silicon) 
That  variations  in  the  proportion  of  silicon  afford  a  trust- 
worthy and  inexpensive  means  of  producing  a  cast  iron 
of  any  required  mechanical  character  which  is  possible 
with  the  material  employed. 

(20) 


CONSTITUENTS    OF    IRON.  21 

CARBON  IN  CAST  IRON. 

Carbon  assumes  a  greater  number  of  aspects  than 
any  of  the  elements  we  deal  with  in  connection  with 
iron.  We  find  it  colorless  and  transparent  in  the 
diamond ;  opaque,  black  and  partly  metallic  in  graphite 
or  black  lead;  dull  and  porous  in  wood  charcoal,  and 
under  still  other  conditions  in  anthracite,  coke  and  gas 
carbon.  Carbon  exerts  the  most  vital  influence  upon 
the  character  of  pig  iron  of  all  the  elements. 

The  different  proportions  of  carbon  held  in  chemical 
composition  in  iron  determines  whether  the  material  is 
crude  or  cast  iron,  steel,  or  bar  or  malleable  iron ;  cast 
iron  containing  more  than  steel  and  steel  more  than 
malleable  iron,  which  last  ought  to  be  pure  metal,  a  point 
of  perfection  rarely  reached.  It  is  impossible  to  assign 
the  limits  between  these  three  forms  of  iron,  or  their 
relative  proportions  of  carbon,  with  entire  precision,  for 
bar  iron  passes  into  steel  by  insensible  gradations,  and 
steel  and  cast  iron  make  such  mutual  transitions  as  to 
render  it  difficult  to  define  where  the  former  commences 
and  the  latter  ceases  to  exist.  In  fact,  some  steels  may 
be  called  crude  iron  and  some  cast  irons  may  be  classed 
among  steels.  Carbon  affects  the  color,-  strength,  hard- 
ness and  fusibility  of  cast  iron.  It  exists  in  pig  iron  in 
two  distinct  forms,  the  combined  and  the  graphitic  or 
free  carbon,  and  upon  the  relative  proportion  of  each  in 
a  great  measure  depends  the  character  of  the  metal. 


22  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

The  "  total  carbon  "  is  always  equal  to  the  combined, 
plus  the  graphitic.  Graphitic  carbon  occurs  almost 
exclusively  in  gray  pig  iron  (foundry  irons)  in  the  form 
of  dark  thin  flakes,  varying  much  in  size  and  intersecting 
the  small  particles  of  iron.  Its  influence  is  to  make  iron 
softer  and  tougher,  but  weaker  and  less  tenaceous  than 
if  it  existed  in  the  form  of  combined  carbon.  Carbon 
combines  with  iron  up  to  about  4.63  per  cent.,  and  the 
amount  that  will  be  taken  up  is  dependent  chiefly  upon 
the  percentage  of  silicon,  sulphur  and  manganese  present- 
silicon  and  sulphur  lowering  the  amount  of  carbon,  while 
manganese  raises  the  point  of  saturation.  Phosphorus 
does  not  seem  to  have  any  effect  upon  the  carbon.  Pro- 
fessor Turner,  of  Mason  College,  Birmingham,  England, 
has  shown  that  the  strength  of  cast  iron  depends  upon, 
first,  the  amount  of  weakening  impurities  present,  and 
second,  the  proportion  existing  between  the  combined 
and  graphitic  carbon  in  cast  iron.  He  says  that  as  the 
tendency  of  combined  carbon  is  to  increase  hardness 
and  brittleness,  and  that  of  graphitic  to  make  the  iron 
soft,  malleable  and  tough,  too  much  of  either  form  is  a 
disadvantage. 

In  the  chapter  on  silicon,  we  will  show  that  by 
a  judicious  use. of  silicon  this  proportion  can  be  regu- 
lated. 

Cast  iron,  when  free  from  manganese,  can  not  hold 
more  than  4.50  per  cent,  of  carbon,  and  3.50  per  cent, 
is  about  as  much  as  is  ever  present ;  but  as  manganese 


CONSTITUENTS    OF    IRON.  23 

increases,  carbon  increases  also,  until  we  find  it  in  Spiegel 
as  high  as  6  per  cent.  This  effect  or  capacity  to  hold 
carbon  is  peculiar  to  manganese. 

Castings  of  iron  alone  or  of  iron  and  carbon  will 
always  be  white  and  the  carbon  will  always  be  combined. 
The  grayness  of  cast  iron  depends  upon  the  percentage 
of  silicon  present.  White  iron  may  result  from  the  fol- 
lowing four  conditions :  first,  chilling ;  second,  high 
sulphur ;  third,  low  silicon  ;  fourth,  high  manganese. 


24  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

SILICON  IN  CAST  IRON. 

Next  to  carbon,  silicon  is  the  commonest  and  most 
abundant  constituent  of  cast  iron. 

We  have  just  seen  under  carbon  upon  what  the 
strength  of  cast  iron  depends,  and  since  strength  is  the 
thing  most  desired,  irons  having  an  excess  of  weakening 
impurities  will  not  find  a  market,  and  what  we  wish  to 
provide,  therefore,  is  the  proper  proportion  between  the 
combined  and  the  graphitic  carbon.  Professor  Turner, 
as  has  also  Mr.  W.  J.  Keep,  of  Detroit,  demonstrated 
that  by  a  judicious  use  of  silicon,  this  proportioning  can 
be  accomplished  exactly  according  to  the  wish  of  the 
founder ;  an  increase  of  silicon  changing  combined  to 
graphitic,  and  vice  versa.  According  to  Professor  Turner, 
when  the  founder  understands  its  use,  he  may  soften  and 
toughen  or  harden  and  strengthen  his  iron  to  suit  his 
requirements.  He  is  careful,  however,  to  advise  against 
the  free  use  of  silicon  without  first  understanding  when 
it  is  needed,  for  in  an  iron  where  the  carbon  is  already 
graphitic,  more  silicon  may  weaken  it  and  make  it  brittle. 
It  is  only  within  the  last  five  or  six  years  that  the  useful- 
ness of  silicon  has  been  known  or  recognized.  By  its 
use,  pig  iron  and  scrap,  which,  when  used  alone,  are 
totally  unfit  for  foundry  purposes,  may  be  converted  into 
merchantable  material. 

Silicon  has  been  known  as  a  softening  agent,  and  pig 
irons  that  have  this  element  in  considerable  quantities 
have  been  designated  as  "  softeners" 


CONSTITUENTS    OF    IRON.  25 

For  years  foundrymen  demanded  the  softeners  made 
in  Scotland  and  from  the  lean  ores  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky, 
and  it  has  only  recently  become  generally  known  that  this 
softening  quality  is  due  to  silicon.  When  this  quality  in 
silicon  became  known,  the  demand  for  high  silicon  in- 
creased largely.  In  1887,  foreign  irons  containing  as  high 
as  10  per  cent,  silicon  were  imported  into  the  United 
States.  These  high  silicon  irons  varying  from  7  to  14 
per  cent,  silicon,  go  under  the  name  otferro  silicon.  This 
demand  led  to  the  production  of  ferro-silicon  in  this 
country,  and  the  result  of  comparison  made  with 
foreign  irons  shows  the  American  softener  to  be  the 
better. 

Iron  absorbs  silicon  greedily,  uniting  with  it  in  all  pro- 
portions up  to  at  least  30  per  cent.,  and  apparently  the 
more  readily  the  higher  the  temperature,  absorbing  it 
even  at  a  red  heat  when  imbedded  in  sand.  In  general, 
silicon  diminishes  the  power  of  iron  to  combine  with 
carbon,  not  only  when  molten,  but  more  especially  at  a 
white  heat,  thus  favoring  the  formation  of  graphite  dur- 
ing slow  cooling.  It  increases  the  fusibility  and  fluidity 
of  iron,  lessens  the  formation  of  blow  holes  and  reduces 
shrinkage.  It  is  thought,  by  the  majority,  to  increase 
tensile  strength  slightly. 

Pure  iron,  if  it  could  be  made,  unlike  most  of 
the  metals,  would  have  no  commercial  value,  and 
would  be  so  pliable  and  inelastic  as  to  possess  but  little 
strength. 


26  THE   A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

The  effect  of  silicon  on  iron  is  to  change  the  combined 
carbon  into  graphitic  carbon,  or  we  may  express  it  by 
saying  that  it  changes  white  iron  to  gray  iron,  the  color 
of  the  iron  varying  from  gray  to  black,  depending  upon 
the  amount  of  graphite  it  contains. 

A  solid  casting  could  not  be  made  with  simple  iron 
and  carbon,  for  the  carbon  would  be  entirely  in  the  com- 
bined state,  and  the  casting  would  be  white,  hard  and 
brittle. 

Cast  iron,  therefore,  which  contains  enough  silicon  to 
take  out  the  brittleness,  and  to  allow  it  to  make  a  solid 
casting,  is  the  strongest  composition  ordinarily  found  in 
natural  cast  iron.  Professor  Keep's  tests  show  that  a 
solid  casting  having  its  carbon  combined,  is  stronger 
than  one  in  which  the  carbon  is  more  graphitic,  and  he 
states  that  "  for  strength,  therefore,  we  must  endeavor  to 
obtain,  instead  of  a  perfectly  uniform  distribution  of 
graphite,  a  concentration  in  uniformly  distributed  minute 
pockets,  around  which  the  iron  holding  combined  carbon 
may  form  a  lace  work ;  if  strength  be  more  important 
than  softness,  we  will  leave  the  greatest  possible  quantity 
of  carbon  in  the  combined  state  that  will  not  cause  the 
iron  to  be  brittle." 

The  strongest  castings  are  obtained  from  irons  that 
will  produce  sound  castings  with  the  least  amount  of 
silicon. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  when  just  enough  sili- 
con is  obtained  to  produce  a  sound  casting,  any  addi- 


CONSTITUENTS   OF   IRON.  p  27 

tional  amount  of  silicon  to  such  iron  will  decrease  the 
strength  and  cause  brittleness. 

Silicon  by  causing  carbon  to  crystallize  out  as  graphite, 
lessens  shrinkage,  and  shrinkage  would  be  prevented 
entirely  by  the  swelling  out  of  the  graphite,  if  it  was 
not  prevented  by  the  mass  of  iron  about  it.  It  is  best 
always  to  use  irons  that  contain  the  proper  amount  of 
silicon  for  the  desired  quality  of  casting,  for  the  graphite 
separates  more  easily  and  the  shrinkage  is  less  where 
the  pig  iron  receives  its  silicon  while  in  the  blast  furnace, 
than  where  the  percentage  is  made  up  by  adding  special 
ferro-silicon. 

From  2  per  cent,  to  5  per  cent,  of  silicon,  depending 
upon  other  ingredients  present,  will  change  all  the  com- 
bined carbon  that  can  be  changed.  The  change  to  the 
graphitic  reduces  hardness  and  makes  the  iron  soft  so 
that  it  can  be  drilled  and  filed. 

When  the  carbon  has  become  graphitic,  the  further 
addition  of  silicon  hardens  cast  iron.  This,  however,  is 
produced  entirely  through  its  influence  on  the  carbon  and 
not  by  direct  influence  of  the  silicon.  We  quote  from 
Professor  Keep  on  this  subject :  "  We  have  seen,  how- 
ever, that  a  white  iron  which  will  invariably  give  porous 
and  brittle  castings  can  be  made  solid  and  strong  by  the 
addition  of  silicon ;  that  a  further  addition  of  silicon  will 
turn  the  iron  gray,  and  that  as  the  grayness  increases, 
the  iron  will  grow  weaker ;  that  excessive  silicon  will 
again  lighten  the  grain  and  cause  a  hard  and  brittle  as 


28  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

well  as  a  very  weak  iron ;  that  the  only  softening  and 
shrinkage  lessening  influence  of  silicon  is  exerted  during 
the  time  when  graphite  is  being  produced,  and  that  sili- 
con of  itself  is  not  a  softener,  or  a  lessener  of  shrinkage, 
but  through  its  influence  on  carbon,  and  only  during  a 
certain  stage  does  it  produce  these  effects." 

By  its  action  on  the  carbon,  silicon  reduces  the  chill- 
ing capacity  of  iron. 

The  loss  of  silicon  from  remelting  is  very  slight. 

Foundry  irons  contain  from  i  to  5  per  cent,  of  silicon, 
ferro-silicon  5  to  14  per  cent,  and  castings  from  i  to  3 
per  cent. 

It  must  not  be  taken  from  the  apparently  broad 
assertion  of  Professor  Turner,  or  from  any  of  the  fore- 
going, that  the  founder  has  in  silicon  a  remedy  for  all 
the  ills  that  iron  is  heir  to.  The  statements  are  perfectly 
reliable  and  proven,  but  a  given  percentage  of  silicon  in 
iron  at  the  present  state  of  general  blast  furnace  practice 
will  not  always  produce  like  results.  Each  of  the  irons 
a  founder  uses  will  have  peculiar  tendencies  given  them 
in  the  blast  furnace,  which  will  exert  their  influence  when 
the  iron  is  remelted. 

The  percentages  of  manganese,  phosphorus  and 
sulphur  must  be  known  to  regulate  the  proper  propor- 
tion of  silicon,  and  only  by  great  care  and  attention  to  the 
composition  of  his  mixture  can  the  foundryman  expect 
to  overcome  the  difficulties  that  occur  daily  in  the  melt- 
ing of  pig  iron. 


CONSTITUENTS    OK    IRON.  29 

PHOSPHORUS  IN  CAST  IRON. 

Pig  iron  derives  its  phosphorus  chiefly  from  the  phos- 
phates existing  in  the  ore  or  in  the  flux.  No  element  of 
itself  weakens  cast  iron  so  much  as  phosphorus  when 
present  in  any  considerable  quantity,  and  for  this  reason 
particular  attention  should  be  given  to  the  analysis  of 
all  irons.  It  is  not  an  unmixed  evil,  however,  for  when 
present  in  quantities  ranging  from  i  ^  per  cent,  and 
less,  it  has  some  beneficial  effects,  for  while  it  can  not 
be  said  that  it  really  makes  iron  more  fluid,  it  prolongs 
the  period  of  fluidity.  Its  tendency  is  to  render  the 
metal  very  limpid  so  that  it  will  take  an  extremely  fine 
and  sharp  casting  from  the  most  delicate  patterns.  The 
famous  Berlin  castings  of  reproductions  in  iron  of  ancient 
armor  and  other  ornamental  objects  are  obtained  by 
using  iron  rich  in  phosphorus,  but  it  possesses  the  dis- 
advantage of  rendering  the  metal  brittle  and  unfit  for 
many  practical  uses.  Were  it  not  for  its  weakening 
effect  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  keep  the  phosphorus 
in  foundry  mixture  at  less  than  i  to  i  %  per  cent  Mr. 
Keep,  in  a  series  of  tests,  demonstrates  that  phosphorus 
is  a  lessener  of  shrinkage,  and  as  phosphorus  does  not 
influence  carbon,  it  must  be  due  to  direct  action  of 
phosphorus.  All  high  phosphorus  irons  have  low 
shrinkage. 

In  the  blast  furnace  phosphorus  is  not  effectively 
volatilized,  for  any  which  volatilizes  immediately  re-con- 


3O  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

denses.  Hence,  in  the  blast  furnace  and  in  the  cupola 
all  the  phosphorus  passes  into  the  metal.  Hence,  the 
watchfulness  necessary  to  see  that  pig  iron  does  not  con- 
tain an  excess  of  this  element.  Bloxam  calls  phosphorus 
the  "hereditary  disease,"  because  of  the  great  difficulty 
of  removing  it  from  iron. 

It  is  only  eliminated  by  intense  heat  as  in  the  pud- 
dling furnace,  where  about  90  per  cent,  can  be  elimin- 
ated, and  in  the  Basic  process,  where  96  to  99  per  cent, 
may  be  removed. 

Phosphorus  causes  iron  to  be  what  is  known  as 
"cold-short,"  that  is,  brittle  when  cold.  Howe  says: 
''Phosphorus  probably  has  little  effect  on  the  tensile 
strength  under  gently  applied  load ;  but  phosphoric  iron 
is  readily  broken  by  jerky,  shock-like  or  vibratory 
stresses,  sometimes  when  quite  trifling — it  is  treacher- 
ous. It  sometimes  affects  iron  but  slightly,  sometimes 
under  apparently  like  conditions  profoundly — it  is 
capricious." 

It  must  not  be  expected  that  a  given  percentage  of 
phosphorus  will  behave  at  all  times  in  the  same  way, 
for  other  elements  may  be  present  in  such  a  way  as  to 
entirely  change  the  results. 

The  percentage  of  phosphorus  varies  in  pig  iron  from 
a  trace  to  i  ^  per  cent.  Unless  great  fluidity  is  desired 
and  strength  is  not  a  consideration,  the  percentage  of 
phosphorus  in  pig  iron  for  foundry  work  should  be  0.8 
per  cent,  and  less. 


CONSTITUENTS   OF    IRON.  31 

MANGANESE  IN  CAST  IRON. 

Manganese  is  seldom  absent  in  pig  iron,  the  percent- 
age depending  upon  the  ore  used  and  the  temperature 
of  the  furnace.  Both  in  its  physical  and  chemical 
characters  it  resembles  iron  very  closely.  It  is  generally 
produced  in  the  blast  furnace,  and  is  combined  with  iron 
and  small  percentages  of  silicon,  phosphorus  and  sul- 
phur. The  metal  itself  has  not  been  applied  to  any 
useful  purpose,  and  is  of  value,  commercially,  only  when 
combined  with  iron.  It  has  been  made  to  replace  iron 
to  the  extent  of  85  per  cent.  If  the  silicon  is  under 
0.50  per  cent,  the  product  will  be  white.  Pig  iron  con- 
taining manganese  from  about  5  to  30  per  cent.,  with  the 
remainder  mostly  iron  and  silicon  not  high  enough  to 
make  the  product  gray,  the  alloy  is  called  spiegeleisen, 
and  the  fracture,  as  its  name  indicates,  will  show  flat 
reflecting  surfaces. 

With  manganese  50  per  cent,  and  over,  the  iron  alloy 
is  called  ferro  manganese.  The  bulk  of  the  ferro  man- 
ganese used  is  imported  from  England  and  Germany, 
and  contains  80  per  cent,  manganese. 

We  quote  the  following  from  Howe's  Metallurgy  of 
Steel :  "There  appears  to  be  no  limit  to  the  extent  to 
which  manganese  can  combine  with  iron  ;  the  higher  the 
percentage  of  manganese  in  the  alloy,  the  higher  is  the 
temperature  in  the  blast  furnace  necessary  for  its  pro- 
duction. Manganese  is  reduced  from  its  oxides  by  car- 


32  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

bon  at  a  white  heat,  and  the  more  readily  the  more 
metallic  iron  is  present  to  combine  with  it. 

"  It  is  easily  removed  from  iron  by  oxidation,  being 
oxidized  even  by  silicon ;  and  partly  in  this  way,  partly  in 
others,  it  restrains  the  oxidation,  of  the  iron  while 
sometimes  restraining,  sometimes  permitting,  the  oxida- 
tion of  the  other  elements  combined  with  it.  Its  presence 
increases  the  power  of  carbon  to  combine  with  iron  at 
high  temperature  (say  1400°  C.)  and  restrains  its  sep- 
aration as  graphite  at  lower  ones." 

Manganese  assists  in  the  prevention  of  blow-holes. 
It  bodily  removes  sulphur  from  cast  iron  and  thus  pre- 
vents hot-shortness.  It  does  not  counteract  cold-short- 
ness caused  by  phosphorus.  In  a  number  of  tests 
Mr.  Keep  shows  that  manganese  increases  the  shrink- 
age of  cast  iron,  and  he  states  that  "  a  high  shrinkage 
caused  by  manganese  is  independent  of  carbon  and  can 
not  be  taken  out  without  removing  the  manganese.  As 
shrinkage  varies  with  the  size  of  the  casting  and  pro- 
duces internal  stress  within  the  casting,  this  question  is 
of  vital  importance  to  the  foundryman.  The  less  shrink- 
age in  the  iron,  the  less  the  danger  from  cracks." 

Hardness  is  another  important  consideration  with  the 
founder.  An  increase  of  i  per  cent,  of  manganese  has 
increased  the  hardness  40  per  cent.  Mr.  Keep's  tests 
show  that  manganese  does  not  increase  chill.  If,  how- 
ever, a  hard  chill  is  required,  manganese  gives  it  by 
adding  hardness  to  the  whole  casting.  This  hardness  is 


CONSTITUENTS    OF    IRON.  33 

due  to  the  hardness  of  manganese  itself  and  not  because 
more  of  the  carbon  has  taken  the  combined  form.  In 
trying  to  make  soft  castings  with  low  shrinkage,  avoid 
manganese.  The  amount  of  manganese  varies  in  pig 
iron  from  a  trace  to  2  per  cent.  On  account  of  its 
tendency  to  make  iron  hard  and  brittle,  it  can  only  be 
tolerated  in  very  strong  castings,  and  even  then  the  per- 
centage should  be  under  0.75  per  cent.,  and  should  not 
exceed  0.5  percent,  in  foundry  irons.  Much  of  the  man- 
ganese that  is  present  in  a  pig  iron  will  escape  in  the 
slag  during  remelting  in  the  cupola,  and  in  so  doing 
benefit  the  iron  by  carrying  off  sulphur  which  has  been 
brought  in  with  the  fuel. 


34  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

SULPHUR   IN  CAST  IRON. 

Sulphur  is  without  doubt  the  most  deleterious  sub- 
stance found  in  pig  iron.  The  other  elements  all 
produce  effects  which  may  be  beneficial  for  certain  pur- 
poses, but  sulphur  is  the  enemy  dreaded  by  all,  on 
account  of  its  affinity  for  iron,  combining  with  it  at  a 
low  temperature.  Sulphur  unites  with  iron,  probably  in 
all  proportions,  up  to  53.3  per  cent.,  being  readily 
absorbed  from  many  sources.  It  causes  iron  to  be 
what  is  known  as  "  red-short,"  that  is,  brittle  when 
hot.  It  makes  iron  hard  and  white,  though  this  may 
be  accounted  for  partly  by  its  causing  iron  to  retain 
its  carbon  in  the  combined  state.  It  increases  the 
fusibility  of  cast  iron,  but  makes  it  thick  and  sluggish 
when  molten,  and  gives  rise  to  blow  holes  during  its 
solidification. 

The  presence  of  sulphur  in  pig  iron  and  in  the  cast- 
ings is  due  mainly  to  its  absorption  from  the  fuel.  For 
this  reason  close  attention  should  be  given  the  analysis 
of  the  fuel  used,  which,  in  the  case  of  foundries,  is  coke. 
Coke,  with  sulphur  over  0.75  to  0.90  per  cent.,  is  not  fit 
for  foundry  purposes. 

Fortunately,  sulphur  is  easily  removed  by  the  use  of 
lime,  manganese,  or  fluor  spar.  Manganese  will  coun- 
teract the  red-shortness  caused  by  sulphur  and  in  some 
cases  actually  removes  sulphur  from  iron  ;  sometimes  by 
forming  some  compound  rich  in  sulphur  and  manganese, 


CONSTITUENTS   OF    IRON.  35 

which  liquidates  or  separates  by  gravity,  and,  perhaps, 
sometimes  by  carrying  oxygen  to  the  sulphur. 

Silicon  expels  sulphur  from  iron  to  a  certain  limited 
extent,  but  not  enough  to  be  of  importance  commer- 
cially. Lime  is,  perhaps,  more  generally  used  than  any 
alkali  for  removing  sulphur.  Not  a  few  use  fluor  spar, 
and  this  is  found  to  be  an  excellent  desulphurizing  agent 
when  its  use  is  understood. 


NUMBERING  OF  IRON. 


The  present  mode  of  selling  pig  iron  is  by  the 
appearance  of  the  fracture  of  the  pig  metal  when  broken, 
and  the  producing  districts  have  different  classifications 
for  their  metal.  Some  of  these  districts  have  three  or 
four  grades  only,  while  others  have  as  many  as  eight  or 
ten,  and  we  have  the  card  of  a  charcoal  iron  company 
that  designates  fourteen  grades. 

This  multiplicity  of  grades  and  the  variations  of  the 
grading  in  different  sections  of  the  country  will  always 
be  confusing,  and  must  soon  lead  to  the  sale  and  pur- 
chase of  pig  iron  by  analysis.  We  give  further  reasons 
for  the  change  to  this  basis  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  the 
subject  of  grading. 

For  all  practical  purposes  we  can  resolve  the  numer- 
ous classifications  to  about  the  following  grades  : 

ANTHRACITE    AND    COKE. 

Nos.  i ,  2  and  3  Foundry  ;  Grey  Forge ;  Mottled  and 
White. 

CHARCOAL. 

Nos.  i,  2,  3  and  5  Foundry;  and  Nos.  I,  2,  3,  4,  5, 
6  and  7  Car-wheel. 

Besides  these,  we  have  in  the  South  the   soft  and 

(36) 


NUMBERING    OF   IRON  37 

silvery  irons,  and  in  Ohio  the  silicized  irons  containing 
from  4  to  10  per  cent,  of  silicon,  both  used  to  soften 
other  irons  and  make  them  run  fluid.  In  addition  we 
have  the  low  phosphorus  and  sulphur  irons  used  in  the 
open  hearth  and  Bessemer  process  for  making  steel,  and 
the  low  silicon  and  high  phosphorus  irons  used  in  the 
basic  process. 

The  carbon  in  pig  iron  is  what  enables  the  eye  to  dis- 
tinguish the  different  grades ;  the  softest,  grayest  iron 
having  almost  all  the  carbon  in  the  graphitic  or  uncom- 
bined  state,  while  the  hard  and  white  irons  have  it  nearly 
or  wholly  combined. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  the  color,  strength,  hard- 
ness, etc.,  of  cast  iron  depend  upon  the  relative  propor- 
tions of  these  two  forms  of  carbon,  varied,  of  course,  by 
the  influence  of  silicon,  sulphur,  manganese  and  phos- 
phorus, which  are  always  present  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent. 

ANTHRACITE   AND    COKE    IRONS. 

No.  I  Foundry  is  the  darkest  of  the  numbers  as 
well  as  the  softest,  as  it  contains  the  most  graphitic 
carbon.  It  is  used  exclusively  in  the  foundry.  In 
appearance  the  fracture  is  dark  in  color,  rough,  open 
grain;  tensile  strength  and  elastic  limit  low;  turns  soft 
and  tough. 

No.  2  Foundry  is  more  generally  used  in  the  foundry 
than  any  other  grade.  The  grain  is  not  so  open  and 
large  as  No.  i  Foundry,  but  the  iron  is  harder  and 


38  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

stronger,  although  less  tough  and  more  brittle.  These 
two  grades,  especially  No.  i  Foundry,  become  very  liquid 
when  melted,  and  will  run  into  castings  of  the  frailest 
and  finest  structure.  The  high  numbers  do  not  become 
so  liquid  when  melted  as  Nos.  i  and  2.  Graphitic  car- 
bon and  silicon  are  both  less  in  No.  2  than  in  No.  i. 

No.  3  Foundry  is  used  for  both  mill  and  foundry  pur- 
poses. It  is  much  stronger  than  Nos.  i  and  2,  the  grain 
being  closer  and  more  compact.  It  turns  hard,  is  less 
tough  and  more  brittle  than  No.  2.  The  strength  for 
tension  seems  to  reach  its  limit  in  this  grade.  It  is  less 
liquid  than  Nos.  i  and  2  and  is,  therefore,  better  adapted 
to  heavy  castings.  The  percentages  of  graphitic  carbon 
and  silicon  are  smaller  and  combined  carbon  larger  than 
in  No.  2. 

Grey  Forge  iron  is  midway  between  No.  3  Foundry 
and  Mottled,  and  is  used  principally  in  rolling  mills.  It 
turns  hard  and  is  weaker  than  No.  3,  color  lighter  and 
verging  into  a  white  background ;  grain  very  close. 
Graphitic  carbon  and  silicon  in  smaller  proportion  than 
in  No.  3,  and  combined  carbon  in  larger. 

Mottled:  Except  in  the  case  of  heavy  castings  requir- 
ing great  strength  and  closeness  of  grain,  where  it  is 
mixed  with  other  irons,  Mottled  iron  is  used  exclusively 
for  puddling  purposes.  Turns  with  great  difficulty,  less 
tough  and  more  brittle  than  Grey  Forge.  Graphitic 
carbon  and  silicon  lower  than  in  Grey  Forge  and  com- 
bined carbon  higher. 


NUMBERING    OF    IRON.  39 

White:  It  is  only  when  a  furnace  is  working  badly 
that  this  grade  is  produced.  It  has  a  smooth,  white 
fracture,  no  grain  and  is  used  exclusively  in  a  rolling- 
mill;  tensile  strength  and  elastic  limit  very  low;  too 
hard  to  turn  or  drill,  as  the  carbon  in  this  grade  is  about 
all  in  the  combined  state. 

No.  i  Soft,  in  grain  is  similar  to  i  and  2  Foundry, 
lighter  in  color,  quite  soft  and  fluid  with  fair  strength. 

No.  2  Soft,  runs  between  a  2  and  3  Foundry,  except 
that  it  is  light  in  color  and  is  higher  in  both  graphitic 
carbon  and  silicon.  These  irons,  together  with  silvery 
irons,  which  are  light  in  color  and  high  in  graphitic  car- 
bon and  silicon,  are  used,  as  the  name  would  indicate, 
for  mixing  with  stronger  and  closer  grained  iron  to  make 
them  soft  and  run  fluid. 

CHARCOAL   IRONS. 

Foundry  irons  made  from  charcoal  are  considerably 
stronger,  and,  because  of  the  fuel,  are  much  freer  from 
impurities  than  irons  made  from  coke  or  coal.  The  grain 
of  charcoal  irons  of  the  same  numbers  as  coke  runs 
closer.  They  are  used  in  foundries  where  great  strength 
is  required  in  castings. 

CAR   WHEEL    IRONS. 

No.  i  is  the  softest  grade,  of  which  very  little  is  used. 
It  will  not  chill,  and  is  used  for  ordinary  castings. 

No.   2  is  produced  in  considerable  quantities.     It  is 


4<D  THE    A    B   C    OF    IRON. 

closer  in  grain,  is  generally  free  from  chill,  is  used  for 
making  malleable  castings  from  furnaces  and  in  remelt- 
ing  old  wheels  for  a  softener. 

No.  3  is  a  harder  iron  and  chills  from  one-quarter  to 
three-quarters  of  an  inch ;  is  much  used  with  softer  irons 
in  manufacturing  car  wheels. 

No.  4  is  a  still  harder  iron  and  will  chill  from  rhree- 
quarters  to  one  and  one-quarter  inches.  This  grade  is 
used  almost  entirely  for  car  wheel  purposes. 

No.  5  is  about  half  white  in  the  pig,  and  will  chill  from 
one  and  one-quarter  to  one  and  three-quarter  inches. 

Nos.  6  and  7  are  white  iron. 

Nos.  5,  6  and  7  are  mixed  with  softer  irons  in  car 
wheel  mixtures,  and  are  also  used  in  making  chilled  rolls. 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  standard  governing 
furnaces,  so  far  as  the  analysis  of  the  different  grades  are 
concerned.  This  is  accounted  for  by  the  variations  of 
the  constituents  in  iron  ores  as  well  as  the  character  of 
fuel  used,  which  make  it  impossible  to  establish  an 
analysis  that  would  be  accepted  by  all  furnaces  as  a 
standard. 

It  would  be  possible  to  regulate  the  graphitic  carbon 
and  the  silicon,  which  the  grades  should  contain,  but  not 
the  other  impurities. 


NUMBERING    OF    IRON. 


We  give  analyses  showing  about  the  average  pro- 
portions of  the  elements  found  in  the  several  grades : 


ANALYSES. 


No.  i 
F'dry. 

No.  2 
F'dry. 

No.  3 
F'dry. 

Grey 
Forge. 

Mot- 
tled. 

White. 

Soil. 

Sil- 
very. 

Q2  4.6 

0^  O4 

Q-l    q? 

04  OI 

0^  08 

04  64 

QI  08 

00  68 

Graphitic  Carbon  . 
Combined  Carbon  . 
Silicon  

3-54 
.14 
2.80 

3.01 
.28 
2  zz 

2.50 

•75 

I.QS 

2.00 

1.80 

I.OO 

1.90 
1-95 

•91 

3.65 

.AO 

3-65 
•05 
•*.4O 

3.00 
.06 

5-25 

Phosphorus  .... 

•75 

OI 

.70 
02 

.30 

02 

.65 

02 

•50 
02 

•25 
IO 

•50 
O2 

•75 

OI 

Manganese  .... 

•3° 

.40 

•55 

.52 

•74 

.96 

.40 

•25 

The  Lake  Superior  and  other  Northern  irons  having 
a  tendency  to  red-shortness,  and  the  Southern  irons 
having  a  tendency  to  cold-shortness,  has  resulted  in  the 
mixing  of  the  irons  from  the  different  sections  to-  very 
great  advantage. 


GRADING  OF  IRON. 

SHOULD  IT  BE  BY  ANALYSIS  OR  FRACTURE? 


We  have  just  seen  in  the  chapter  on  the  "  Numbering- 
of  Iron"  that  pig  iron  is  graded  according  to  the  fracture, 
and  how  confusing  and  unsatisfactory  this  system  is. 
This  custom  of  grading  has  been  in  vogue  so  long  that 
many  have  grown  to  think  it  is  the  only  way  to  determine 
the  character  of  the  iron ;  but  while  the  eye  is  a  fair 
guide  in  fixing  the  grade,  it  is  not  possible  to  tell  the 
percentages  of  the  impurities  in  the  iron  from  the 
appearance  of  the  fracture,  consequently  the  system  is 
deceptive. 

On  the  other  hand  if  iron  is  graded  by  analysis,  the 
amount  of  the  percentages  is  determined  accurately,  and 
if  the  effect  of  these  elements  is  known,  the  foundryman 
is  enabled  to  select  only  such  iron  as  will  benefit  his 
mixture. 

There  are  a  great  many  foundrymen  that  will  not 
believe  chemical  knowledge  can  be  of  any  advantage  to 
them  in  making  a  selection  of  irons  for  their  mixtures. 
The  knowledge  can  surely  do  no  harm,  but  will,  on  the 
contrary,  accomplish  results  that  would  have  been  impos- 
sible with  simply  a  knowledge  of  the  fractures. 
(42) 


GRADING   OF    IRON.  43 

We  do  not  believe  any  property  of  iron  can  be 
determined  by  its  fracture  except  the  condition  of  the 
carbon,  whether  it  be  in  the  graphitic  or  combined  state. 
Sulphur  and  phosphorus,  and  even  manganese  could  be 
present  in  such  quantities  as  to  injure  the  iron  for  many 
uses,  and  yet  there  is  nothing  in  the  fracture  to  indicate 
it.  Since  then  these  injurious  elements  which  so  greatly 
affect  the  quality  or  character  of  their  product  can  not  be 
detected  by  the  appearance  of  the  fracture,  why  insist 
upon  a  system  in  vogue  hundreds  of  years  ago  when  the 
effects  of  the  elements  were  unknown,  and  iron  was  con- 
sidered a  simple  element,  and  which  is  the  cause  often  of 
inferior  castings  and  heavy  loss  ? 

All  furnacemen  know  that  the  fracture  can  not  always 
be  relied  on,  and  that,  frequently,  iron  graded  under  the 
present  system  as  No.  2,  or  even  No.  3  Foundry,  will 
run  as  soft  on  remelting  as  a  No.  i,  but  no  foundryman 
could  be  persuaded  to  accept  it  for  a  No.  i  from  appear- 
ance of  fracture.  One  furnaceman  interviewed  on  this 
subject,  said,  "  we  can  make  pig  iron  that  by  fracture  is 
as  beautiful  a  No.  i  as  any  one  cares  to  see,  yet  on  a 
remelt  in  a  cupola  it  will  run  nearly  white,  like  a  No.  5." 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  no  one  can  tell  how  pig 
iron  is  going  to  melt  from  the  appearance  of  the  fracture 
of  that  pig  iron. 

The  furnacemen  are  much  in  advance  of  the  foundry- 
men  and  other  consumers  of  pig  iron  in  the  chemistry 
of  iron.  They  have  learned  that  pure  iron,  like  pure 


44  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

gold,  is  always  the  same  thing  physically  and  chemically, 
no  matter  from  what  source  it  comes,  and  that  its  differ- 
ent characteristics  are  imparted  to  it  by  and  dependent 
upon  the  percentages  of  these  elements  in  combination 
with  it.  Through  study  and  the  discussion  of  the 
chemistry  of  iron,  the  furnacemen  have  in  the  last 
few  years  made  great  improvement  in  their  practice  and 
in  the  uniformity  of  their  product.  To  inquiry  made  of 
some  thirty  manufacturers  of  pig  iron  as  to  whether  they 
could  make  pig  iron  of  such  uniformity  as  would  enable 
ihem  to  sell  by  analysis  rather  than  by  fracture,  only 
affirmative  answers  were  received  and  the  hope 
expressed  that  this  basis  would  soon  be  adopted.  Some 
furnaces  have  already  adopted  it  with  satisfactory  results. 
There  is  no  reason  why  a  chemist  should  not  tell  the 
physical  qualities  of  pig  iron  from  an  analysis  as  easily 
and  accurately  as  the  naturalist  can  tell  the  genus  of  an 
animal  from  an  examination  of  a  single  bone. 

Among  the  founders,  however,  little  attention  has 
been  paid  to  the  chemistry  of  iron,  but  when  they  have 
once  seen  the  great  advantage  to  them  of  this  basis 
of  grading,  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  iron  will  be 
purchased  on  no  other  basis  than  that  of  analysis.  There 
is  still  much  for  the  chemist  to  solve  before  many  of  the 
apparent  inconsistencies  of  analysis  will  be  fully  under- 
stood ;  but  with  a  better  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the 
founder  of  the  effect  of  the  elements  on  his  mixture,  will 
come  the  demand  for  iron  having  a  guaranteed  per- 


GRADING   OF   IRON.  45 

centage  of  certain  elements  for  the  required  work.  The 
success  of  the  steel  industry  is  largely  due  to  the 
scientific  attention  bestowed  upon  the  chemistry  of  steel 
and  its  manufacture  has  been  carried,  on  this  account,  to 
a  fine  degree  of  perfection.  There  is  no  reason  why 
iron  should  not  reach  the  same  perfection  and  be  sold  by 
analysis  as  steel  is. 

We  feel  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  all  iron 
must  be  sold  on  basis  of  analysis.  It  means  a  common 
language  for  both  producer  and  consumer  in  discussing 
the  qualities  or  characteristics  of  an  iron.  The  founder 
having  obtained  a  mixture  suited  to  his  purpose  and 
knowing  its  constituents,  has  only  to  indicate  his  neces- 
sities to  have  his  order  filled  with  a  degree  of  satisfaction 
not  known  or  possible  under  the  present  system,  because 
in  the  matter  of  fracture  no  two  furnaces  grade  exactly 
alike,  and  as  previously  stated,  the  iron  may  run  much 
softer  or  harder  than  the  grade  under  which  the  fracture 
would  indicate  it  should  be  classed.  By  analysis  the 
grading  can  be  guaranteed,  and  only  in  this  way  can 
perfect  uniformity  be  attained. 


HOW  TO  REDUCE  COST  OF 
MIXTURE. 


The  author  can  do  no  more  than  offer  a  suggestion 
on  this  subject.  His  experience  and  investigation  do 
not  warrant  the  laying  down  of  any  rules  or  suggesting 
any  formulas  that  would  bring  about  this  result. 

The  character  of  work  differs  so  much  in  foundries 
that  what  would  be  suitable  for  one  might  not  be  for 
another;  and  while  the  mixture  would  answer  several 
purposes,  in  the  one  case  it  might  be  an  economical  one 
and  in  the  others  a  very  expensive  mixture. 

It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  foundryman  who  is 
ignorant  of  the  ingredients  of  his  mixture  can  not  hope 
to  accomplish  much  in  the  direction  of  cheapening  his 
product.  We  do  not  look  for  a  fine  composition  in 
literature  from  a  man  ignorant  of  the  alphabet,  or  a  fine 
painting  from  one  who  does  not  know  how  to  draw  or 
mix  his  colors  ;  no  more  can  we  expect  the  best  material 
at  the  minimum  cost  from  a  man  that  is  not  master  of 
his  tools,  which,  with  the  foundryman,  are  the  constitu- 
ents of  his  mixture. 

We  do  not  argue  that  the  foundryman  must  take  a 
course  in  chemistry ;  this  is  not  necessary  or  always  prac- 

(46) 


HOW   TO    REDUCE    COST   OF    MIXTURE.  47 

ticable.  The  information  to  be  gathered  from  the  articles 
in  this  book  on  the  ^constituents of  iron"  are  sufficient  to 
show  the  necessity  for  attention  and  study  of  the  subject 
either  from  text-books  or  from  publications  of  reliable 
authorities.  A  knowledge  of  the  effects  of  the  elements 
that  enter  into  his  mixture  and  practical  experience 
with  them,  will  soon  enable  the  founder  to  leave  the 
traditional  mixture  for  one  better  suited  to  his  require- 
ments in  every  particular. 

Perhaps  he  thinks  the  quantities  of  injurious 
elements  are  so  small  they  can  not  affect  much,  either 
way,  the  quality  of  his  casting.  We  need  only  to  point 
him  to  the  very  small  quantity  of  plumbago  (carbon)  that 
will  change  iron  into  steel,  as  the  best  evidence  of  how 
profoundly  certain  elements  affect  the  properties  of 
metals.  Such  changes  may  cause  the  material  to  be  very 
useful  or  entirely  worthless. 

We  suggest  that  when  a  casting  is  made  that 
answers  all  requirements  as  to  strength,  etc.,  that  an 
analysis  be  made  both  of  the  casting  and  the  mixture 
from  which  it  is  made.  The  former  will  show  the  per- 
centages of  the  ingredients  that  combine  to  give  him  the 
casting  of  the  qualities  desired  ;  and  the  latter  will  show 
what  elements  are  necessary  and  the  impurities  permis- 
sible in  the  pig  iron  to  produce  the  casting. 

It  is  only  when  the  proper  percentages  are  known 
and  the  effects  of  the  different  elements  understood,  that 
a  foundryman  can  begin  to  experiment  successfully.  By 


48  THE   A    B   C    OF   IRON. 

carefully  studying  the  analyses  of  the  various  brands  of 
pig  iron  offered  from  different  sections  of  the  country,  it 
will  no  doubt  be  found  that  the  same  result  can  be  accom- 
plished by  a  combination  of  irons  of  the  lower  and  less 
expensive  grades.  The  object  which  a  founder  has  to 
keep  in  view  is  to  use  the  cheapest  metal  consistent  with 
obtaining  in  the  casting  the  requisite  properties  for  the 
purpose  to  which  it  is  to  be  employed. 

We  would  advise  the  foundryman  to  study  his 
requirement ;  learn  for  himself  what  elements  he  needs 
to  give  strength,  softness,  fluidity,  etc.,  to  his  iron. 
He  will  then  not  be  dependent  upon  the  "  salesman 
with  a  mixture"  who,  to  have  him  buy  his  iron,  will 
cause  him  to  try  iron  not  suited  to  his  necessities, 
often  resulting  in  the  loss  of  hundreds  of  dollars. 
A  little  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  foundryman  will 
enable  him  to  avoid  all  this,  and  to  tell  before  trying  an 
iron  whether  it  is  suited  to  his  work,  or  will  do  what  is 
claimed  for  it. 

Constant  watchfulness,  however,  is  necessary  at  all 
times,  for  because  of  the  present  mode  of  grading  iron 
and  the  irregularity  of  blast  furnace  product  in  some 
sections,  the  producer  of  pig  iron  does  not  always  deliver 
material  of  exactly  uniform  character,  and  the  slightest 
variation  of  some  of  the  ingredients  may  be  sufficient  to 
change  entirely  the  nature  of  the  castings. 


STEEL. 


Mr.  Swank,  in  his  "  Iron  in  All  Ages,"  speaking  of 
Huntsman's  invention  for  making  steel,  says  :  "  There 
have  been  many  other  improvements  in  the  manufacture 
of  steel,  and  more  recently  there  has  been  a  very  great 
relative  increase  in  its  production  and  use  as  compared 
with  iron,  until  it  has  become  a  hackneyed  expression 
that  this  is  the  Age  of  Steel.  While  this  is  true  in  the 
sense  that  steel  is  replacing  iron,  it  is  well  to  remember 
that  the  ancients  made  steel  of  excellent  quality  and 
that  the  art  of  manufacturing  it  was  never  lost  and  has 
never  been  neglected.  The  swords  of  Damascus  and 
the  blades  of  Toledo  bear  witness  to  the  skill  in  the 
manufacture  of  steel  which  existed  at  an  early  day  in 
both  Asia  and  Europe.  German  steel  was  widely  cele- 
brated for  its  excellence  during  the  middle  ages,  and 
steel  of  the  same  name  and  made  by  the  same  process 
still  occupies  an  honorable  place  among  metallurgical 
products.  Even  Huntsman's  invention  of  the  art  of 
making  the  finest  quality  of  steel  in  crucibles,  while 
meritorious  in  itself,  was  but  the  reproduction  and  ampli- 
fication in  a  modern  age  of  a  process  for  manufacturing 
steel  of  equal  quality  which  was  known  to  the  people  of 
India  thousands  of  years  ago." 

(49) 


50  THE   A    I?    C    OF    IRON. 

Because  of  the  wonderfully  rapid  growth  and  import- 
ance of  this  industry,  we  think  a  brief  description  of  the 
principal  methods  of  manufacturing  steel  entirely  appro- 
priate. Some  of  the  processes  are  intricate  and  elab- 
orate, and  we  can  only  attempt  here  an  outline  of  them. 
Besides  those  we  shall  describe  there  are  a  number  of 
other  so-called  steel  processes,  but,  as  a  rule,  they  are 
untried,  and  some  systems  that  may  in  the  near  future 
be  of  practical  benefit  are  not  yet  worked  out. 

The  oldest  system  of  making  steel  is  the  Crucible 
System.  By  this  process  most  all  of  the  fine  grade  of  steel 
is  made.  It  consists  in  cutting  up  Swedish  iron  or  other 
low  phosphorus  irons  into  small  pieces  and  putting  them 
into  covered  crucibles,  which  crucibles  are  placed  in  a 
furnace  and  permitted  to  remain  there  a  longer  or  shorter 
time,  according  to  the  quality  of  steel  to  be  made. 
Succeeding  this  is  the  Open  Hearth  System,  which  con- 
sists of  an  open  hearth  furnace,  with  a  circular  bottom, 
ranging  in  capacity  from  five  to  thirty  tons.  In  these 
open  hearth  furnaces,  as  a  rule,  the  process  of  making 
steel  consists  in  melting  down  primarily  a  certain  pro- 
portion of  good  Bessemer  pig  iron,  low  in  phosphorus, 
to  form  what  is  called  a  bath.  Into  this  melted  pig  iron, 
or  bath,  after  the  iron  is  thoroughly  melted,  is  thrown 
scrap  steel  of  various  kinds,  owing  to  the  quality  of  steel 
that  is  to  be  made.  This  system  covers  a  very  broad 
range  of  steel  making,  running  from  the  commonest 
agricultural  steel  to  the  finest  boiler  plates.  By  some  it 


STEEL.  5 1 

is  believed  that  the  open  hearth  system  will  entirely 
supersede  the  crucible,  but  crucible  steel  is  still  superior 
to  that  produced  in  other  ways. 

The  great  output  of  steel,  however,  is  made  by  the 
different  pneumatic  processes  known  as  the  Bessemer 
and  the  Clapp- Griffith  and  some  other  modifications  of 
that  system.  The  Clapp-Griffith  process  is  nothing 
more  or  less  than  the  Bessemer  process  applied  to  shal- 
lower vessels  on  a  smaller  scale.  The  Bessemer  system 
consists  in  melting  Bessemer  pig  iron  under  .10  in  phos- 
phorus in  a  cupola  and  running  it  into  a  large  vessel 
known  as  the  Bessemer  Converter.  This  converter  is 
so  arranged  at  the  bottom  that  tuyeres,  containing  a  large 
number  of  small  holes,  are  placed  in  the  bottom  of  it  and 
through  these  tuyeres  blast  pressure  is  forced  up  through 
the  iron  in  the  converter  until  the  proper  amount  of 
carbon  is  burned  out  of  the  iron.  The  proper  amount 
of  carbon  for  the  desired  quality  of  steel  is  then  restored 
by  the  introduction  of  spiegeleisen  and  ferro-manganese 
into  the  Bessemer  converter.  A  peculiarity  of  the  proc- 
ess consists  in  the  entire  absence  of  any  fuel  whatever 
in  converting  the  already  melted  cast  iron  into  steel,  the 
carbon  and  silicon  in  the  iron  combining  with  the  oxygen 
of  the  atmospheric  blast  to  produce  an  intensely  high 
temperature.  The  Bessemer  process  derives  its  name 
from  Sir  Henry  Bessemer,  of  England,  who  is  generally 
accredited  as  being  the  inventor.  He  began  his  experi 
ments  in  1854,  secured  his  patents  in  1856,  but  it  was 


52  THE    A    B   C    OF    IRON. 

not  until  1858  that  complete  success  was  achieved  by 
him  in  the  conversion  of  cast  iron  into  cast  steel,  and  his 
success  at  this  time  was  due  to  the  assistance  of  Robert 
F.  Mushet.  For,  although  Mr.  Bessemer  had  discov- 
ered that  melted  cast  iron  could  be  decarbonized  and 
desiliconized  and  rendered  malleable  by  blowing  cold 
air  through  it  at  a  high  pressure,  he  had  been  unable  to 
retain  or  restore  the  small  amount  of  carbon  necessary 
to  produce  steel.  Mr.  Mushet  overcame  the  difficulty 
by  adding  to  the  cast  iron  that  has  been  decarbonized 
and  desiliconized,  from  i  to  5  per  cent,  of  a  melted  triple 
compound  of  iron,  carbon  and  manganese ;  spiegeleisen 
being  the  cheapest  form  of  the  compound.  Mr.  Besse- 
mer's  prosperity  dated  from  Mushet's  discovery,  and  he 
realized  something  over  $5,000,00x3,  while  Mr.  Mushet 
died  as  he  lived — a  poor  man.  Mr.  Wm.  Kelly,  who 
died  in  Louisville  in  1888,  claimed  to  have  discovered 
this  process  before  Mr.  Bessemer,  and  the  Commissioner 
of  Patents  conceded  the  justness  of  his  claim.  He  began 
his  experiments  in  1847  at  Eddyville,  Ky.,  but  failed  to 
apply  for  patents  until  1857,  a  few  months  after  Sir  Henry 
Bessemer  obtained  two  patents  in  this  country.  In  1866 
the  American  patents  of  Kelly,  Bessemer,  and  Mushet 
were  consolidated,  and  the  growth  of  the  industry  in 
this  country  dated  from  that  time.  The  process  just 
described  is  known  as  the  Acid  Bessemer  process. 

The  Basic  Bessemer  process  is  important  in  that 
it  permits  of  the  use  of  iron  high  in  phosphorus.     The 


STEEL.  53 

credit  for  the  discovery  of  the  method  of  eliminating 
phosphorus  is  due  to  two  English  chemists,  Sidney  G. 
Thomas  and  Percy  C.  Gilchrist.  The  process  consists 
in  lining  the  Bessemer  converter  with  dolomite  limestone. 
The  phosphorus  is  eliminated  by  the  action  of  this  dolo- 
mite lining. 

We  do  not  attempt  a  description  of  many  so-called 
processes  for  making  steel.  Many  of  them  are  impracti- 
cable in  competition,  in  a  commercial  sense,  with  the 
processes  just  described. 

Great  difficulty  was  experienced  at  the  beginning  of 
the  Bessemer  steel  industry  of  this  country,  in  obtaining 
suitable  pig  iron  and  lining  material  for  the  converters, 
many  failures  occurring  in  using  iron  that  was  not  suited 
for  conversion  into  steel.  All  difficulties  have  long  been 
overcome,  and  this  industry  has  been  brought  to  a  higher 
degree  of  perfection  in  the  United  States  than  it  has 
attained  in  any  other  country.  The  United  States  is 
now  not  only  independent  of  other  countries  for  its 
supply  of  Bessemer  pig  iron,  but  it  is  also  the  largest 
producer  of  Bessemer  pig  iron  in  the  world. 


PHYSICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  METALS 
DEFINED. 

W.    C.    ROBERTS-AUSTEN. 


Density:  The  density  of  a  metal  depends  on  the 
intimacy  of  the  contact  between  the  molecules.  It  is 
dependent,  therefore,  on  the  crystalline  structure,  and  is 
influenced  by  the  temperature  of  casting,  by  the  rate  of 
cooling,  by  the  mechanical  treatment,  and  by  the  purity 
of  the  metal.  The  density  of  a  metal  is  augmented  by 
wire-drawing,  hammering,  and  any  other  physical  method 
of  treatment  in  which  a  compressing  stress  is  employed. 
Pressure  on  all  sides  of  a  piece  of  metal  increases  its 
density. 

Malleability:  This  is  the  property  of  permanently 
extending  in  all  directions,  without  rupture,  by  pressure 
produced  by  slow  stress  or  impact.  The  malleability  of  a 
metal  is  dependent  on  its  purity.  Relative  malleability 
may  be  determined  by  the  degree  of  thinness  of  the 
sheets  that  can  be  produced  by  beating  or  rolling  the 
metals,  without  annealing. 

Ductility:  This  is  the  property  that  enables  metals 
to  be  drawn  into  wire. 

Tenacity:  This  is  the  property  possessed  by  metals, 
in  varying  degrees,  of  resisting  the  separation  of  their 
molecules  by  the  action  of  a  tensile  stress. 

(54) 


PHYSICAL  PROPERTIES  OF  METALS  DEFINED.  55 

Toughness  is  the  property  of  resisting  the  separation 
of  the  molecules  after  the  limit  of  elasticity  has  been 
passed. 

Hardness  is  the  resistance  offered  by  the  molecules 
of  a  substance  to  their  separation  by  the  penetrating 
action  of  another  substance. 

Brittleness  is  the  sudden  interruption  of  molecular 
cohesion  when  the  substance  is  subjected  to  the  action 
of*  some  extraneous  force,  such  as  a  blow  or  a  change  of 
temperature.  It  is  largely  influenced  by  the  purity  of 
the  metal. 

Elasticity  is  the  power  a  body  possesses  of  resuming 
its  original  form  after  the  removal  of  an  external  force 
which  has  produced  a  change  in  that  form.  The  point 
at  which  the  elasticity  and  the  applied  stress  exactly 
counterbalance  each  other,  is  termed  the  Limit  of  Elas- 
ticity. If  the  applied  stress  were  then  removed,  the 
material  acted  upon  would  resume  its  original  form.  If, 
however,  the  stress  were  increased,  the  change  in  form 
would  become  permanent,  and  permanent  set  would  be 
effected.  Within  the  limit  of  elasticity  a  uniform  rod  of 
metal  lengthens  or  shortens  equally  under  equal  addi- 
tions of  stress.  If  this  were  the  case  beyond  that  limit, 
it  is  obvious  that  there  would  be  some  stress  that  would 
stretch  the  bar  to  twice  the  original  length,  or  shorten  it 
to  zero.  This  stress,  expressed  in  pounds  or  tons  for  a 
bar  of  one  inch  square  cross  section,  is  termed  the 
Modulus  of  Elasticity.  In  measuring  the  strength  of 


56  THE    A    13    C   OK    IRON. 

iron  or  steel  two  points  have  usually  to  be  determined — 
the  limit  of  elasticity,  and  the  ultimate  tensile  strengtJi  or 
maximum  stress  the  material  can  sustain  without  rupture. 


TABLE  OF  SHRINKAGES  OF  CASTINGS. 

OVERMANN. 


The  following  table  gives  the  shrinkages  of  various 
kinds  of  castings : 

In  locomotive  cylinders TV  inch  in  a  foot. 

In  pipes ^  inch  in  a  foot. 

Girders,  beams,  etc %  inch  in  15  inches. 

Engine  beams,  connecting-rods    .    .    .   .    y%  inch  in  16  inches. 

In  large  cylinders,  say  70  inches  diame- 
ter, 10  feet  stroke,  the  contraction  of 

diameter  is  about $£  inch  at  top. 

Contraction  of  diameter  is  about     .   .    }4  inch  at  bottom. 

Shrinkage  of  length  is yi  inch  in  16  inches. 

In  thin  brass ^  inch  in    9  inches. 

In  thick  brass     ^  inch  in  10  inches. 

In  zinc ^  inch  in  12  inches. 

In  lead  (according  to  purity)     .   .    .  ^  to  -^  inch  in  12  inches. 

In  copper      "          "       "  •   •    •  •&  to  ^  *nch  *n  I2  inches. 

In  tin  "          "       "  ...  ^  to  7\  inch  in  12  inches. 

In  silver about  ^  inch  in  12  inches. 

The  above  values  vary  slightly  with  the  shape  of  the 
pattern,  the  amount  of  ramming,  the  fluidity  and  heat  of 
the  metal  at  pouring  time,  and  also  with  the  nature  of 
the  mould,  whether  of  dry  or  green  sand,  or  loam.  The 
practice  of  a  foundry  varies  somewhat  from  that  of 
another  establishment.  The  only  agreement  is  in  the 
averages. 


WEIGHTS  OF  CASTINGS  FROM  PATTERNS. 

WEIGHTS  OF  CASTINGS  FROM  PATTERNS. 

OVERMAN  N. 


57 


If  it  be  desired  to  make  an  approximate  guess  of 
the  weight  of  a  casting  from  the  pattern  at  hand,  the 
latter  may  be  weighed,  and  the  corresponding  weight  of 
the  casting  will  be  found  in  the  following  tables.  It  is 
evident  that  account  should  be  taken  of  the  core  prints, 
and  battens,  and  other  extraneous  parts  on  the  pattern, 
and  that  their  weights  should  be  deducted. 

The  first  table  is  from  Rose's  "  Pattern  Maker's  As- 
sistant," and  probably  agrees  with  American  practice 
and  woods  used  for  patterns.  The  second  table  is  of 
European  origin,  and  discrepancies  may  be  accounted 
for  by  the  difference  of  densities  of  the  materials.  Eu- 
ropean woods  are  generally  more  dense  than  the  corre- 
sponding ones  of  America. 

WILL  WEIGH  WHEN  CAST  IN 


A  PATTERN  WEIGHING  ONE  POUND, 
MADE  OF 

[ 

N 

1 

f 

if 

Gun  Metal 

Mahogany—  Nassau   

Ibs. 
10.7 

12  Q 

Ibs. 
10.4 

12  7 

Ibs. 

12.8 

JC    -1 

Ibs. 

12.2 
14.6 

Ibs. 

12-5 

1C. 

8  <; 

8  2 

IO  I 

q  7 

q  o 

pine  —  red  ..       

12  I 

14  2 

14  6 

"      white     

16  7 

16  i 

IQ  8 

10  *\ 

"      yellow 

i  -i  6 

16  7 

16 

16  «; 

THE   A    B   C    OF    IRON. 


•\ 

VILL  V 

rEIGH 

WHEN 

CAST  I 

w 

A  PATTERN  WEIGHING  ONE 
POUND,  MADE  OF 

Cast-iron  . 

» 

9 
1 

j 

I 

Bell  or 
gun  metal 

1 

TC  8 

1  6  7 

16  i 

Oak 

15.0 

10.3 

J3-5 
8  6 

Beech    

9- 

10.4 

10.3 

16  * 

Pear 

ii  8 

Q  8 

Birch.     

12  2 

12  Q 

IO  2 

Alder        ... 

12  8 

je  e 

12  2 

14  2 

II  2 

0  &1 

o  08 

O  8l 

Tin  with  X  to  %  of  lead    .... 
I^ead  

0.89 
064 

I. 

O  72 

1.03 
O  74 

1.03 

O  74 

1.  12 

o  78 

0.85 

o  61 

TABLE 

Showing  the  tenacities  and  resistances  to  compression 
of  various  simple  metals  and  alloys. 


METALS  AND  ALLOYS. 

Tenacity. 
A  bar  of  one  inch  square 
section,  will  be  torn 
asunder  by 

Resistance  to  Compres- 
sion.    One  square  inch 
will  be  crushed  by 

Resistance 
to 
Torsion  . 

Pounds. 

Pounds. 

Copper,  Wrought     .   . 
Malleable  Iron  .... 
j^ead     

33,ooo 
56,000  to    70,000 
i  824 

4-3 

IO.O 
I  O 

Steel     

2OO  OOO  to  250  OOO 

16  to  19 

Tin                   

i  4 

Zinc                           .   . 

Common  Brass  .... 

17,900 

10,300 

4-6 

TO    MEND    CASTINGS.  59 

TO  MEND  CASTINGS. 

HOLLAND. 


To  MEND  HOLES  IN  CASTINGS. — Sulphur  in  powder, 
i  part ;  sal-ammoniac  in  powder,  2  parts ;  fine  iron  bor- 
ings, 80  parts.  Make  into  a  thick  paste  and  fill  the  holes. 

NOTE. — These  ingredients  can  be  kept  separate,  and 
mixed  when  required. 

Sulphur,  2  parts  ;  fine  black-lead,  i  part.  Melt  the 
sulphur  in  an  iron  pan  ;  then  add  the  lead  ;  stir  well  and 
pour  out.  When  cool,  break  into  small  pieces.  A  suf- 
ficient quantity  being  placed  on  the  part  to  be  mended 
can  be  soldered  with  a  hot  iron. 

To  FILL  HOLES  IN  CASTINGS. — Lead,  9  parts  ;  anti- 
mony, 2;  and  bismuth,  i.  Melt  together  and  pour  in. 
(Expands  in  cooling.) 


TESTS  TO  DETERMINE  SULPHUR  IN  COKE. 


i  st.  Dip  in  water  and  allow  to  dry  in  air.  Sulphur 
will  show  in  rough  spots  like  iron  pyrites. 

2nd.  Nearly  every  foundry  uses  sulphuric  acid  or 
oil  of  vitriol  (same  thing)  in  the  wood  pattern  shop. 
Pour  a  little  of  it  on  a  piece  of  coke,  and  if  it  is  high  in 
sulphur  the  odor  will  be  very  perceptible. 


STATISTICS. 


IRON  ORES. 

The  United  States  Geological  Survey  divides  the 
iron  ores  into  the  following  classes  : 

Red  Hematite:  Those  ores  in  which  the  iron  is  found 
as  an  anhydrous  sesquioxide,  including  "  specular," 
"fossil,"  "micaceous,"  "martite,"  "slate  iron  ores,"  etc. 
They  range  in  color  from  light  red  to  steel  gray,  and  are 
recognized  by  a  red  streak  on  a  test  plate. 

Brown  Hematite :  Includes  all  those  ores  in  which 
the  iron  is  found  as  a  hydrated  sesquioxide,  the  color 
ranging  from  yellow  to  dark  brown  and  black.  This  class 
includes  "bog  ore,"  "limonite,"  "  turgite,"  "goethite," 
etc.,  and  is  recognized  by  a  brown  streak  on  a  test  plate. 

Magnetite:  Includes  all  those  ores  in  which  the  iron 
occurs  principally  as  magnetic  oxide  of  iron,  viz. :  Fe3O4. 
These  ores  are  magnetic  and  give  a  black  streak. 

Carbonate:  Comprises  ores  in  which  the  protoxide  of 
iron  is  associated  with  a  large  percentage  of  carbonic 
acid,  and  includes  "black  band,"  "spathic,"  "siderite," 
and  "clay  iron  stones."  They  are  generally  light  gray 
to  brown,  sometimes  dark  brownish  red,  according  to 
the  extent  to  which  they  are  weathered. 

The  largest  amount  of  iron  ore  mined  in  any  year 
was  reached  in  1890,  when  the  output  was  16,036,043 

long  tons.     In  addition  to  this  home  production  there 

(60) 


STATISTICS.  6 1 

was  imported  in  1890,  1,246,830  tons  and  in  1891,912,864 
tons.  The  importation  came  principally  from  Spain, 
Cuba  and  Italy  ;  these  countries  supplying  about  40,  30 
and  10  per  cent.,  respectively,  of  the  total  importation. 

The  following  groupings  of  ore-producing  mines  are 
made  by  the  Census  Bureau  for  the  production  of  1889, 
showing  in  a  marked  way  the  comparatively  small  areas 
contributing  the  great  bulk  of  the  supply  for  that  year. 
The  four  districts  or  ranges  embraced  in  the  Lake 
Superior  region  are  none  of  them  of  great  extent 
geographically,  and  if  a  circle  was  struck  from  a  center 
in  Lake  Superior  with  a  radius  of  one  hundred  and 
thirty-five  miles  all  of  the  iron  ore  producing  territory  of 
the  Lake  Superior  region  would  be  embraced  within  one- 
half  of  the  circle  and  most  of  the  deposits  would  be 
near  the  periphery.  The  output  of  this  section  was 
7,519,614  long  tons.  A  parallelogram  sixty  miles  in 
length  and  twenty  miles  in  width  would  embrace  all  of 
the  producing  mines  in  the  Lake  Champlain  district  of 
Northern  New  York,  whose  output  in  1889  aggregated 
779,850  long  tons.  A  single  locality,  namely,  Cornwall, 
in  Lebanon  county,  Pa.,  contributed  769,020  long  tons 
in  1889.  A  circle  of  fifty  miles  radius,  embracing  por- 
tions of  Eastern  Alabama  and  Western  Georgia,  included 
mines  which  in  1889  produced  1,545,066  long  tons. 

By  way  of  comparison  we  give  the  production  of  the 
different  characters  of  ore  mined  during  the  last  three 
years,  and  for  the  years  1890  and  1891  give  the  produc- 
tion of  these  varieties  by  States  in  the  order  of  their 
precedence  as  iron-ore  producers.  The  tables  are  made 
up  from  statistics  prepared  by  Mr.  John  Birkinbine, 
special  agent  for  Census  Bureau. 


62 


THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 


Productions  of  Various  Kinds  of  Iron  Ore  in  1890 
By  States. 


STATES. 

Red 

Hematite. 

Brown 
Hematite. 

Magnetite. 

Carbonate. 

Total. 

Michigan   

6,426,077 

402,274 

313,305 

7,141,656 
i  8o7  8is 

Pennsylvania    .   .    . 
New  York     .... 

M3.745 
196,035 

78A  257 

415,779 
30,968 

l64    7O8 

765,318 
945,071 

36,780 
8l,3I9 

1.361,622 

1,253,393 
048  06*; 

CA-l     Cg-i 

48Q    8O8 

jqir  808 

Tennessee     .... 

278,076 

187,619 

465,695 

69  271 

174.  8l7 

244  088 

ISQ  44O 

181  690 

Ohio 

l69   O88 

169  088 

IA  608 

Montana,    Oregon, 
NewMexico,Utah 

3,632 

48,000 
is68q 

30,000 

81,632 
77  68"? 

26  O58 

26   O58 

West  Virginia 

North  Carolina    .   . 

22,873 

22,873 

Texas  

22  OOO 

22  OOO 

Maine     

2  5OO 

2  SOO 

Total  

2  S7O  8l8 

1  6  036  043 

Percentage  of  Total 

65-65 

15.96 

16.03 

2-36 

100 

STATISTICS. 


Productions  of  Various  Kinds  of  Iron  Ore  in  1891 
By  States. 


STATES. 

Red 
Hematite. 

Brown 
Hematite. 

Magnetite. 

Carbonate. 

Total. 

Michigan              .   . 

C  Ajie  vji 

457  5O7 

224  12^ 

T  oSfi  R-sn 

Pennsylvania    .   .   . 
New  York     .... 

162,683 

I53»723 

363,894 

5^  152 

727,299 

782     72Q 

19,052 
27  612 

1,272,928 

045  IOS 

1,274 

6^1  74.2 

2  ^OO 

945,  IO5 

Wisconsin  

527,705 

61  776 

rgQ     ,I»T 

196,88-; 

3,850 

^  840 

517  Q22 

543,923 

45  027 

6,940 

4  74Q 

25°,  755 

QQ  rig 

106,949 

45  III 

IQ  Q78 

fir  ogn 

Texas  



51,000 

.  .  •  -  - 

51,000 

. 

^8  776 

•IQ  021 

29  018 

8,536 

4,OOO 

12  5^6 

Utah 

4  OOO 

8  ooo 

West  Virginia 

6,200 

6  200 

Idaho  

400 

400 

Total  .   . 

189  108 

Percentage  of  Total 

63.92 

18.90 

15-88 

1.30 

IOO 

64  THE    ABC    OF    IRON. 

Total  Production  of  Iron  Ore  — 1889,  189O  and  1891. 


1891. 

1890. 

1889. 

STATES  AND  TERRITORIES. 

m 

m 
? 
K 

PRODUCTION. 
Long  Tons. 

1 

PRODUCTION. 

Long  Tons. 

I 

PRODUCTION. 
Long  Tons. 

Michigan     

I 

6,127,001 
I  986  8y> 

i 

7,141,656 

I 

5,856,169 

I  272  Q28 

1  361  622 

New  York   

i  017  216 

6 

86,1  «;o8 

Virginia           

fi 

658  016 

7 

e*-l   cg-I 

408  i=wt 

ego  481 

Q48  Q61? 

fS 

g 

s 

Q 

JQC  go8 

10 

2CO  755 

IO 

244  088 

12 

I  IO  Q42 

114  275 

J7 

l8l  690 

IO 

26c  718 

Ohio 

1  60  088 

Montana,  Oregon,  New  Mex- 

81  632 

86  405 

Kentucky                      • 

Ac  080 

77  68  5 

16 

Massachusetts   

J7 

47  5O2 

]7 

•12  Q^ 

16 

46  242 

Tfl 

V7  ^7Q 

T6 

35  ^57 

TS 

2Q  ^80 

Connecticut    

IQ 

^O  Q2^ 

iS 

26  058 

^! 

2Q  6CK> 

North  Carolina     

2O 

19  2IO 

20 

22  873 

">2 

10  125 

21 

6  2OO 

IQ 

25  116 

19 

13  101 

Idaho    

22 

4OO 

Maine  

22 

21 

12  ^IQ 

Total     

IA  51  8  OAI 

J4  59T  *7& 

STATISTICS. 


PRICES  OF  LAKE  SUPERIOR  IRON  ORE. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Lake  Superior  district  the 
iron  ores  mined  are  about  all  consumed  by  furnaces  in 
the  State  producing  them.  The  great  bulk  of  the 
Superior  ores  go  to  supply  Illinois,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania 
and  Eastern  States,  which  require  large  quantities  in 
addition  to  their  own  production.  We  give  below  the 
prices  at  which  Lake  Superior  iron  ore  has  been  sold 
during  the  last  seven  years  for  season  contracts,  delivered 
at  Cleveland  and  neighboring  ports  on  Lake  Erie. 


GRADES. 

1886. 

1887. 

1888. 

1889. 

1890. 

1891. 

1892. 

Republic    and    Champion 
No  i                            ... 

46  2c, 

$7  OO 

tc  ne 

*C    CQ 

$6  TO 

Cleveland  and  Lake  Supe- 
rior specular  No.  i  .   .    . 
Chapin    and  Menominee 
No    i 

5-50 

52e 

6.5o 

5-25 
A   7C 

5-00 
A    CO 

6.00 

5.00 

5.00 

Soft  hematites,  No.  i  non- 

A     CQ 

A.  SO 

Gogebic,    Marquette,   and 
Menominee  No.  i  Besse- 
mer hematites   

5.00 

6.00 

4-75 

5-OO 

6.00 

A  7C 

A    <CO 

Minnesota  No.  i  Bessemer 
Minnesota  hard  Bessemer 
hematite    (Chandler) 

5-75 

6.75 

5-75 

5-50 

6.50 

5-5o 

5-65 
A  8«; 

Lake   Superior    and   Lake 
Angeline  extra  low-phos- 

66  THE    ABC    OF    IRON. 

PIG  IRON. 

Sixty  years  ago  the  American  blast  furnace  which 
would  make  four  tons  of  pig  iron  in  a  day,  or  twenty-eight 
tons  in  a  week,  was  doing  good  work.  This  year  the 
maximum  production  of  the  world  has  been  reached  by 
Furnace  I  of  the  Edgar  Thompson  Steel  Company,  at 
Braddock,  Pa.,  which  made  in  January  12,706  gross  tons, 
a  daily  average  of  410  tons;  best  week  3,005  tons,  best 
day  5 1 1  tons. 

Nor  has  the  growth  of  the  industry  been  less  remark- 
able than  the  individual  capacities  of  the  furnaces.  In 
1866  the  United  States  had  reached  the  production  of 
Great  Britian  in  1835  J  tnat  ^s  to  sav  sne  was  tnen  thirty- 
one  years  behind  the  latter  country.  At  the  end  of  1884, 
she  was  but  twenty-one  years  behind  England.  The 
prophecy  was  made  by  the  Census  Bureau  in  1880,  that, 
allowing  for  the  same  rate  of  increase  for  both  coun- 
tries, the  United  States  will  be  fifteen  years  behind 
England  in  1900,  and  will  reach  and  surpass  her  in 
1950,  the  production  of  pig  iron  in  each  country  for 
that  year,  as  determined  from  the  equation  of  their 
respective  curves,  being  a  little  over  30,000,000. 

To  the  astonishment  of  the  world,  the  United  States 
recorded  a  growth  unparalleled,  and  in  1890  surpassed 
England  sixty  years  in  advance  of  this  prediction,  pro- 
ducing 33  ^  per  cent,  of  the  world's  production.  When 
it  comes  to  consumption,  we  far  out-strip  any  other,  or 
any  other  two  nations  of  the  earth.  We  use  probably 


STATISTICS.  67 

as  much  iron  as  England,  France  and  Germany  taken 
together.  Those  countries  depend  largely  on  the  export 
trade  for  their  chief  business. 

Concerning  the  future,  Hon.  Abram  S.  Hewitt  esti- 
mates that  in  1900  the  world  will  require  35,000,000 
gross  tons  of  iron,  of  which  the  United  States  must 
supply  45  per  cent.  Mr.  Edward  Atkinson  estimates 
that  if  this  accelerating  demand  should  continue  for  the 
next  eleven  years,  the  supply  must  be  100  per  cent,  in 
excess  of  that  which  now  prevails.  In  other  words,  the 
supply  in  1900  will  be  50,000,000  gross  tons. 

We  consume  more  iron  and  steel  per  capita  than 
any  other  country,  our  average  consumption  of  these 
products  being  about  three  hundred  and  twenty  pounds 
for  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  United  States. 

It  would  occupy  too  much  space  to  enumerate  the 
great  diversity  of  uses  to  which  iron  and  steel  are  put. 
As  a  means  of  power  and  force  we  see  them  in  all 
stages,  from  the  powerful  engines  and  locomotives  to 
the  delicate  hair  spring  of  a  watch ;  in  domestic  use  in 
the  furnaces  and  cooking  utensils  in  every  household ; 
in  art  as  displayed  in  the  elaborate  decorations  and 
ornaments  now  used  for  beautifying  our  residences  and 
public  buildings. 

The  following  statistics,  compiled  by  the  American 
Iron  and  Steel  Association,  will  prove  interesting  as 
showing  the  extent  of  this  industry : 


68 


THE  A  B  C  OF  IRON. 


BLAST  FURNACE  CAPACITY. 

SUMMARY    BY   STATES. 


STATES. 

Furnaces  Completed 
January,  1892. 

Annual  Capacity  of  Completed  Furnaces, 
January,  1892,  in  net  tons. 

Anthracite  . 

C 

? 

B 
| 

o 

a1 

p 

1 

Anthracite  . 

1 

c 

1 

o 

I 

rf 

g£ 

!  2 
.  % 

Maine 

I 

i 

6,000 

19,500 
41,500 
67,500 

6,000 
19,500 
41,500 
753,500 
274,345 
6,662,748 
463,200 
677,000 
184,000 
280,000 
448,000 
6,000 
107,000 
1,618,000 
58,000 
2,176,500 
30,000 
1,365,000 
436,000 

293>5°° 
50,000 
222,000 

100,000 

15,000 

10,000 

Massachusetts 
Connecticut  . 
New  York  .    . 
New  Jersey    . 
Pennsylvania 
Maryland   .    . 
Virginia     .    . 
West  Virginia 
Kentucky  .    . 
Tennessee  .   . 
NorthCarolina 
Georgia      .    . 
Alabama     .    . 

25 
15 

124 

3 

80 
5 
19 
4 
7 
13 
i 

2 

38 

4 
9 
9 

15 

8 

14 

3 
6 

4 
15 
4 

12 
23 

6 

4 
9 
37 
15 
219 

13 
33 
4 
10 

19 
i 
6 
53 
4 

72 
2 
20 

23 
10 

565,000 
274,345 
2,742,848 

121,000 

3,858,200 
409,000 
625,OOO 
184,000 
227,OOO 
392,000 

6,000 
60,000 
1,407,000 

61,700 
54,200 
52,000 

53,000 
56,000 

47,000 

211,000 

58,000 

53,000 

436,000 
116,500 





Ohio    .... 
Indiana  .    .    . 
Illinois    .   .   . 

60 
2 
20 

2,123,500 
30,000 
1,365,000 



Wisconsin  .   . 

4 

177,000 

Missouri     .    . 
Colorado    .    . 

5 
3 

3 

8 
3 

175,000 
100,000 

47,000 

15,000 
10,000 



Washington  . 

569 

Total  .    .    . 

I64 

267 

138 

3.582,193 

11,309,700 

1,404,900 

16,296,793 

STATISTICS. 


69 


ROLLING  MILLS,  STEEL  WORKS,  ETC. 

SUMMARY    BY    STATES. 


STATES. 

?i 

nS 
••"W 

II 

'  3 
•  0. 

Cut-nail  Machines  . 

Steel  Works. 

1  Forges  and 
Bloomaries. 

OH  and  Steel  Roll- 
ing Mills.  «  .  .  .  . 

"•i 

Clapp-Griffiths  . 

93 

I 

W 
2 

a 

sr 

Crucible  

Mflinp 

I 

14 

I 
8 

23 
20 

211 

9 
6 
8 

7 
8 
5 

I 
13 

8 
19 
19 
192 
9 
6 
8 

7 
8 

4 

I 

326 

;; 

New  Hampshire  .... 
Massachusetts  

2 

I 

-   • 

i 

2 

I 

193 
1,555 

I 

•    • 

•   • 

4 
3 
38 

3 
4 
6 

24 

*  . 

9 
3 
14 

New  York  

18 

3 

i. 

146 
856 
126 
"5 

i 
i 

2 
I 
2 

i 

2 

I 

I 
I 

I 

10 
2 

9 

2 

77 

2 

' 

Ohio 

59 
18 
26 
4 

2 
2 

56 

16 
23 
4 

2 

1,215 
366 

398 

6 

I 
8 

i 

i 
i 
i 

IO 

I 

6 

i 

2 

2 

Michigan    

Wisconsin  

Missouri     
Iowa     .    .    . 

6 

i 

6 

i 

50 

i 

Colorado     .    .   . 

2 
I 

2 
I 

27 

i 

California  . 

4 

4 

96 

5 

4 

i 
7i 

45 

30 

Total  

460 

425 

5,546 

46 

"Excludes  all  steel  works  that  contain  no  hot-rolling  trains  of  rolls. 


7O  THE  A  B  C  OF  IRON? 

PRODUCTION  OF  PIG  IRON  BY  STATES. 


States—  Net  tons. 

1890. 

1891. 

States—  Net  tons. 

1890. 

1891. 

Pennsylvania  . 

4,945,i69 

4,426,673 

Kentucky    .    . 

53,604 

50,225 

Ohio      .... 

1,289,170 

1,159,215 

Missouri  .    .    . 

100,550 

V2  7T.6 

Alabama  .    .    . 

914,940 

891,154 

Connecticut    . 

22,552 

24,428 

Illinois.   .   .    . 

785,239 

749,506 

Texas    .... 

10,865 

20,902 

New  York  .   . 

369,381 

352,925 

Colorado  .    .    . 

23,588 

20,290 

Virginia  .   .   . 

327,912 

330,727 

Oregon  .... 

12,305 

10,411 

Tennessee  .   . 

299,741 

326,747 

Massachusetts 

5,53i 

10,069 

Michigan.  .    . 

258,461 

238,722 

Indiana    .    .    . 

16,398 

8,657 

Wisconsin   .    . 

246,237 

220,819 

North  Carolina 

3,i8i 

3,603 

138  206 

New  Jersey  .   . 

177,788 

103,589 

oft  fi-17 

Maine   .... 

1,200 

Georgia    .    .    . 

I44,97° 
32,687 

90,037 
55,841 

Total  .... 

10,307,028 

9,273,455 

SUMMARY  IRON  AND  STEEL  PRODUCTION. 


Net  Tons  of  2,000  pounds,  except  nails. 

1889. 

1890. 

1891. 

Pig  iron,  including  spiegeleisen  .... 

8,516,079 

«c  82-* 

10,307,028 

9,273,455 

•*  281  820 

4  I^I,S^S 

3,637,107 

Bessemer  steel  rails  
Open-hearth  steel  ingots    

1,691,264 

419,488 

2,091,978 
574,820 
AOl8 

1,448,219 
649,323 

6  <;8o 

8/1  060 

Si  2Q7 

Pig,  scrap,  and  ore  blooms    
Kegs  of  iron  and  steel  cut  nails  .... 

36,260 
5,810,758 

30,783 
5,640,946 

29,219 

5,002,176 

4  114,385 

Iron  and  steel  wire  rods     .       .       .    . 

601  ooo 

All  rolled  iron  and  steel,  except  rails    . 

4,160,491 

4,634,076 

4,573,841 

STATISTICS.  7 1 

Total  Production  of  all  Kinds  of  Steel  from  1 86O  to 
1891,  in  Gross  Tons. 


Years. 

Gross  Tons. 

Years. 

Gross  Tons. 

Years. 

Gross  Tons. 

i860     .... 

11,838 

1872  .... 

I42,9S4 

1882     .... 

1,736,692 

I863     .... 

8,075 

I873.    .    .    . 

198,796 

I883     .... 

1,673,535 

1864     ..         . 

9,258 

1874.    •    •    • 

215,727 

1884     .... 

1,550,879 

I865     .... 

13,627 

1875.    .    .    . 

389,799 

1885     .... 

I,7II,92O 

!866     .... 

16,940 

1876  .... 

533,191 

1886     .... 

2,562,503 

I867     .... 

19,643 

1877  .... 

569,618 

1887     .... 

3,339,071 

1868     .... 

26,786 

1878  .... 

731,977 

1888     .... 

2,899,440 

1869     .... 

31,250 

1879  •     •     •    • 

935,273 

1889     .... 

3,385,732 

1870     .... 

68,750 

1880  .... 

1,247,335 

1890     .... 

4,277,071 

1871     .... 

73,214 

1881      ... 

1,588,314 

1891     .    .    .    ' 

3,904,240 

Production  of  Steel  by  the  Different  Processes. 


Years. 

^Bessemer. 
Net  tons. 

Open- 
Hearth. 
Net  tons. 

Crucible. 
Net  tons. 

Miscel- 
laneous. 
Net  tons. 

Total. 

Net  tons. 

Gross  tons. 

1885    .... 

1,701,762 

149,381 

64,5" 

1,696 

1,917,350 

I,7II,92O 

1886    .... 

2,541,493 

245,250 

80,609 

2,651 

2,870,003 

2,562,503 

1887    .... 

3,288,357 

360,717 

84,421 

6,265 

3,739,760 

3,339,071 

1888    .... 

2,812,500 

352,036 

78,713 

4,124 

3,247,373 

2,899,440 

1889    .... 

3,281,829 

419,488 

84,969 

5,734 

3,792,020 

3,385,732 

1890    .... 

4,131,535 

574,820 

79,716 

4,248 

4,790,319 

4,277,071 

1891    .... 

3,637,107 

649,323 

81,297 

5,022 

4,372,749 

3,904,240 

*  Bessemer   column   includes   Clapp-Griffiths    and  Robert-Bessemer   productions,  these 
being  simply  a  modification  of  the  Bessemer  process. 


THE   A    B    C    OF    IRON. 


STEEL  RAIL  PRODUCTION. 

Since  1874  our  total  production  of  Bessemer  steel 
rails  by  Bessemer  steel  works  and  by  rolling  mills  from 
purchased  material  has  been  as  follows,  in  net  tons : 


Years—  Net  tons. 

Pennsylvania. 

Illinois. 

Other  States. 

Total. 

l8?d. 

48  280 

1875  
1876  . 

112,843 

2QT.  750 

Ill.lSg 

66,831 

74  QO8 

290,863 

l8?7     . 

80  ^IQ 

T878      

l*<i  78e 

08  ^2O 

1879  
1880 

368,187 

197,881 

117,896 

683,694 

1881 

688  276 

!882  

1883  
1884      .    . 

819,544 

231,355 

235,655 

1,286,554 

1885  
1886 

736,522 

308,242 

29,843 

1,074,607 

1887  .        ,    .  '  .    . 

i  276  SA.  s 

728  526 

•248  76l 

1888  

A88  6^Q 

1880  . 

27  860 

l8OO 

r87  C77 

1801  . 

STATISTICS. 


73 


Average  Monthly  Prices  of  Iron  and  Steel. 


„  £>3 

0 

ro 

w 

~2 

*S? 

> 

o 

5- 

£1? 

r*-  & 

Es 

as   (A 

B? 

§a 

a>  ~ 

w§ 

MONTHS. 

I 

III 

t^ 

So1 

S3 
ft 

y  forge  pig  ire 
te  ore,  at  Pitt 
burgh. 

semer  pig  iro 
.t  Pittsburgh. 

:1  rails,  at  mi: 
Pennsylvanu 

refined  bar  in 
n  store,  Phil 
delphia. 

muck  bar  ire 
t  Pittsburgh. 

sails  (base  pri< 
t  Pittsburgh. 

P 

?  % 

3 

t|>  B 

a 

'  tT 

»3 

B 

5. 

January,  1889 

$23-50 

$18.00 

$15.50 

$15.50 

$16.75 

$27.50 

2.00C. 

•75C- 

$1.90 

February  .    . 

23.50 

18.00 

15-25 

14-75 

16.35 

27.50 

i.goc. 

-7oc. 

1.90 

March     .   .    . 

23-50 

18.00 

I5.25 

15-00 

16.50 

27.50 

i.Soc. 

-65c. 

1.90 

Mly  '  '  '    '    ' 

23.50 

'7-35 

15.00 

T/l    *7C 

14.25 

16.25 
16  oo 

27-50 

i.Soc. 

•65c. 

1.90 
i  8s 

June    .... 

22.75 
22.50 

17-25 

14-75 
14.90 

14.00 

16.00 

27»OO 

27.50 

i.goc. 

i6oc! 

1.05 

i.85 

Tulv 

lf\    1  C 

T  nor 

T  no 

22.75 

*7«*5 

I5-OO 

I4-I5 

1O<35 

I.OOC. 

i.yu 

August  .   .   . 

23.50 

I7-50 

15.25 

14.90 

17-50 

28.00 

I.95C. 

I-72C. 

1.90 

September    . 

25.00 

I7-50 

15.25 

18.00 

29.50 

I.95C. 

•75C- 

i-95 

October  .   .   . 

26.00 

I7-50 

15.60 

16.60 

20.75 

32.00 

2.OOC. 

i.Soc. 

2.25 

November  .  . 

26.50 

18.50 

16.75 

17-25 

21.75 

34.00 

2.05C. 

i.Soc. 

2.25 

December  .    . 

27.25 

19.25 

17.25 

18.25 

23-75 

35-00 

2.I5C. 

i.goc. 

2.30 

January,  1890 

27.50 

19.90 

17.90 

18.00 

23.60 

35-25 

2.2OC. 

i.goc. 

2.40 

February  .    . 

27.25 

19.50 

17.38 

18.00 

22.55 

35-00 

2.2OC. 

.goc. 

2-35 

March     .    .    . 

17.00 

17  OO 

2  IOC 

Q~p 

•>  25 

April  .... 

23-85 

18-25 

16.10 

-i  /.mj 

17^5 

33-50 

2.  IOC. 

.850. 

2.00 

May  

23-25 

18.00 

15-65 

15.25 

17.55 

3T-35 

2.  IOC. 

•75c. 

1-90 

June    .... 

24.50 

18.00 

15-50 

I5.25 

19.00 

3L50 

2.00C. 

.8oc. 

i-95 

July  

25.00 

18.00 

15-25 

I5.25 

18.62 

I.90C. 

.Soc. 

1.90 

August  .   .   . 

25.00 

18.00 

15.10 

I5.25 

18.10 

31.25 

I-95C. 

•85c. 

1-85 

September    . 

25.50 

18.00 

15.00 

15.25 

18.00 

30.50 

2.00C. 

•85c. 

1.85 

October  .    .    . 

25.50 

18.00 

15.00 

15.00 

17.35 

30.00 

2.OOC. 

-85c. 

1.85 

November  .   . 

25.10 

18.00 

15.00 

15.00 

17.00 

29.00 

2.OOC. 

-85c. 

i.  So 

December  .   . 

24.5° 

18.00 

15.00 

H-75 

16.60 

28.50 

2.00C. 

1.80 

January,  1891 

23.50 

I7-50 

14.50 

14-25 

15-95 

29.00 

2.OOC. 

ISoc! 

1.65 

February  .    . 

23.35 

I7-50 

14.50 

14.50 

16.25 

30.00 

i.9oc. 

•75C. 

1.65 

March     .    .    . 

22.50 

I7-50 

14-75 

15.00 

16.50 

30.00 

i.goc. 

•75C. 

1.65 

April  .... 

22.50 

I7-50 

14-75 

14.12 

16.10 

30.00 

i.goc. 

.yoc. 

1.60 

Mav 

22  OO 

1A    7C 

16.  so 

7OP 

"*  j  
June    .... 

21.00 

I7-50 

L*T*  /  O 

14-75 

14.00 

16.25 

30.00 

i.goc. 

.  /VA,. 

•  70C. 

1-55 

Tulv     . 

21  OO 

14  60 

14  oo 

16.25 

August  .   .   . 

21.50 

I7-50 

14-50 

14.00 

16.00 

30.00 

1.900.' 

7<x' 

1-55 

September    . 

22.00 

I7-50 

M-35 

14.00 

15.60 

30.00 

i.goc. 

•  7oc. 

October  .   .    . 

22.00 

17-75 

x4-35 

13-85 

I5-50 

30.00 

i.Ssc. 

.70C. 

i.  60 

November.   . 

21-75 

1750 

14-25 

13-50 

30.00 

i.85c. 

.68c. 

i-55 

December  .    . 

21.50 

I7-50 

14-25 

13-50 

15-35 

30.00 

i.goc. 

.68c. 

i-55 

January,  1892 

21.00 

17-5° 

14-25 

13-50 

I5-65 

30.00 

i.Ssc. 

•  7oc. 

i-55 

February  .    . 

20.50 

17.00 

14-25 

13-25 

15-25 

30.00 

i.Ssc. 

.68c. 

i-55 

March     .   .    . 

20.25 

16.50 

14.00 

13.00 

14-75 

30.00 

i.Ssc. 

.62C. 

1.50 

April  .... 

2O.OO 

16  oo 

14.00 

13.00 

14.50 

30.00 

i.goc. 

.6oc. 

1-50 

74 


THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 


World's  Production  of  Iron  and  Steel. 


Pi 

G  IRON. 

5TEEL. 

COUNTRIES. 

Years. 

Tons. 

Years. 

Tons. 

United  States  

1800 

1800 

1890 

1800 

Germany  and  Luxemburg  .... 

1890 
1800 

4,637,239 

1890 
1800 

2,161,821 

1800 

7&I  7^8 

1890 

Austria  and  Hungary    
Russia,  including  Siberia    .... 
Sweden  

1890 
1890 
1890 
1888 

925,308 
745,872 
456,102 

1890 
1889 
1890 

1888 

440,605 

263,719 
169,286 
28  64^ 

Italy         .             

1889 

1889 

Canada                   .        .        .    .        .    . 

1891 

1889 

24  887 

Other  countries,  including  Cuba  . 

1891 

'80,000 

1890 

5,000 

Total  

26  968  468 

Percentage  of  United  States   .    .    . 

34-i 

35-2 

World's  Production  of  Iron  Ore  and  Coal. 


COUNTRIES. 

IRON  ORE. 

COAL. 

Years. 

Tons. 

Years. 

Tons. 

United  States       

1890 
1890 
890 
887 
889 

889 
1890 
1890 

18,000,000 
13,780,767 
11,409,625 
2,579,465 
202,431 
2,2OO,OOO 

I,433,5I3 
941,241 
4,500,000 
173,489 
68,313 

2,000,000 

1889 
1890 
1890 
1890 
1890 
1889 
1889 
1890 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1890 

126,097,779 
181,614,288 
89,051,527 
25,836,953 
20,343,495 
25,326,417 
6,228,000 
258,000 
1,203,119 
390,320 
2,783,626 
11,200,000 

Great  Britain    
Germany  and  Luxemburg  .... 

Russia,  including  Siberia    .... 
Sweden  

Italy    

Canada  

Other  countries,  including  Cuba  . 
Total 

57,288,844 

490,333,524 

Percentage  of  United  States  .   .    . 

.    .    . 

31-4 

25-7 

STATISTICS. 


75 


5     * 

m  jT 

3      I 


o\      -~ 


ft '£  I  '$'$  t  8  {  f  '& 


«•«•*«• 


ft  &  (•  i  I  (  -s  •  &  $ 

$    35    {?    ff   *  S     •    J?     '15 

s  ?         s  5  :  s  :  I 


5?    3- 


S    S 


I    § 
*    ? 


s  a;  «   ;   55    '   s:  a 

3O_         t^.        00^  O^  O  W 

s  I.  I    •  «    •   t  & 


*      I 


S%  I 
*  ^  5 


I  §  S  ?  S I 

S     8-   -     ^    I    * 


.2  a  g 

.*     2--  "      '      "      '  a  ~  a  '  *  '  v 

Si*  :i  H11:':S 

|*|  •    =    *     «B'  .1?  .S.g! 


I    1    I     I 

3         *         3         tf) 

E   a    B    9 


1 1  { 


£     X     <     <X     H     U) 


THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 


GRAND  SUMMARY. 


IRON  AND  STEEL  WORKS. 


January, 


Number  of  completed  Blast  Furnaces — 267  Bituminous,  164  An- 
thracite and  Coke,  and  138  Charcoal :  total 

Number  of  Blast  Furnaces  building — 10  Bituminous  and  i  Char- 
coal: total 

Annual  capacity  of  completed  Blast  Furnaces,  net  tons 

Annual  capacity  of  the  Bituminous  Furnaces,  net  tons 

Annual  capacity  of  the  Anthracite  Furnaces,  net  tons 

Annual  capacity  of  the  Charcoal  Furnaces,  net  tons 

Number  of  completed  Rolling  Mills  and  Steel  Works 

Number  of  Rolling  Mills  and  Steel  Works  building 

Number  of  Single  Puddling  Furnaces  (a  double  furnace  count- 
ing as  two  single  ones) 

Number  of  Heating  Furnaces 

Number  of  Trains  of  Rolls 

Annual  Capacity  of  completed  Rolling  Mills,  net  tons 

Number  of  Rolling  Mills  having  Cut-nail  Factories 

Number  of  Cut-nail  Machines 

Number  of  Cut-nail  Factories  building 

Number  of  Cut-nail  Machines  to  be  used  in  the  new  Factories  . 

Number  of  Wire-nail  Works 

Number  of  completed  standard  Bessemer  Steel  Works 

Number  of  Bessemer  Steel  Works  building 

Number  of  completed  standard  Bessemer  Converters 

Annual  capacity  (built  and  building)  in  ingots,  net  tons    .   .   .  . 

Number  of  completed  Clapp-Griffiths  Steel  Works 

Number  of  Clapp-Griffiths  Converters 

Annual  capacity  in  ingots,  net  tons 

Number  of  completed  Robert-Bessemer  Steel  Works 

Number  of  Robert-Bessemer  Steel  Works  building 

Number  of  Robert-Bessemer  Converters— 6  completed  and  2 
partly  built 

Number  of  completed  Open-Hearth  Steel  Works 

Number  of  Open-Hearth  Steel  Works  building— 4  building  and 
i  standing  nearly  completed 

Number  of  Open-Hearth  Furnaces— 164  completed,  7  building, 
and  7  standing  nearly  completed 

Annual  capacity  (built  and  building)  in  ingots,  net  tons    .   .  .   . 

Number  of  completed  Crucible  Steel  Works 

Number  of  Crucible  Steel  Works  building  .   .    .   . 

Number  of  Steel-melting  Pots  which  can  be  used  at  each  heat 

Annual  capacity  in  ingots,  net  tons  .... 

Number  of  Forges  making  wrought  iron  from  ore 

Annual  capacity  in  blooms  and  billets,  net  tons    ....          .  . 

Number  of  pig  and  scrap  iron  Bloomaries 

Annual  capacity  in  blooms,  net  tons 


569 


'6,296,793 
11,309,700 
3-582,193 
1,404,900 
460 


5,120 

2,913 
1,592 

11,831,294 

65 

5,546 


95 

6,560,000 
5 
9 

170,000 
4 


164 

1,550,000 
45 
I 

2,934 
105,000 


36,000 


575 

27 

13,168,233 
8,223,500 
3,723,333 
1,221,400 
445 


4,9'4 

2,733 

i, 5'0 

9,215,000 

75 

6,c66 
i 

100 
37 
41 


5,600,000 
8 
14 


116 

1,200,000 
43 
3 

3,378 

111,500 

23 

45,«» 

27 

44,000 


STATISTICS.  77 


RAILROADS. 

The  railroads  are  the  largest  factors  in  the  consump- 
tion of  iron  and  steel  products.  They  annually  consume 
in  rails,  bridges,  cars  and  locomotives  about  one-half  of 
the  world's  total  production  of  iron  and  steel.  We  have 
built  more  miles  of  railroad  than  the  whole  of  Europe, 
and  have  used  in  their  construction  as  many  rails,  and  in 
their  equipment  fully  as  many  railroad  cars  and  loco- 
motives. At  the  close  of  1889  the  United  States  had 
twenty-five  miles  of  railroad  to  every  ten  thousand  of 
population,  while  Europe  had  a  little  more  than  four 
miles  to  the  same  population. 

The  following  statistics  are  taken  from  the  twenty- 
fifth  annual  number  of  "  Poor's  Manual  of  Railroads:" 

MILEAGE    OF    UNITED    STATES,     189!. 

Mileage  of  railroads '67,845.56 

Second  tracks,  sidings,  etc 46,683.39 

Total  track 214,528.95 

Steel  rails  in  track 174,775-14 

Iron  rails  in  track 39,753-8i 

ROLLING    STOCK. 

Locomotive  engines 33,5^3 

Cars— Passenger 23,083 

Baggage,  mail,  etc 7>368 

Freight 1,110,286 

Total  revenue  cars 1,140,737 


78  THE   A    13    C    OF    IRON. 

MILEAGE. 

Miles  of  railroad  operated 164,261.91 

Revenue  train  mileage — 

Passenger 320,712,013 

Freight 493.54i.969 

Mixed 19.948,394 

Total 831,203,376 

Passengers  carried 556,015,802 

Passenger  mileage I3.3l6,925,239 

Tons  of  freight  moved 704,398,609 

Freight  mileage 81,210,154,523 

Statement  Showing  Assets  and  Liabilities  of  the 
Railroads  of  the  United  States. 

ASSETS. 

Cost  of  railroad  equipment $8,927,571,592 

Real  estate,  stocks,  bonds  and  other  investments 1,588,590,522 

Other  assets 233,862,243 

Current  accounts 241,399,182 

$10,991,423,539 
LIABILITIES. 

Capital  stock $  4>75i>75°.498 

Bonds  and  debt 5,178,821,989 

Unfunded  debt 345,102,632 

Current  accounts 374,051,161 

Total  liabilities $10,649,726,280 

Bxcess  assets  over  liabilities 341,697,259 

$10,991,423,539 


STATISTICS. 


79 


RAILROAD  MILEAGE-1830-1891 


POOR'S    MANUAL. 


Prior  to  1827  all  the  railroads  built  were  composed 
of  wooden  rails  and  constructed  only  for  carrying  heavy 
material  very  short  distances.  In  1827  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Railroad  was  chartered  by  the  Maryland  Legis- 
lature, and  this  was  the  first  railroad  opened  for  convey- 
ing passengers.  It  was  opened  for  travel  from  Baltimore 
to  Ellicott's  Mills,  a  distance  of  thirteen  miles,  on  May 

24,  1830,  and  completed  to  Washington  City  August 

25,  1834- 


Years. 

Miles  in 
Operation. 

Net 
Increase. 

Years. 

Miles  in 
Operation. 

Net 
Increase. 

1830   .... 

T86i  

,T  286 

660 

1831  

TQ,~ 

95 

72 

1862  
1  86* 

32,120 

834 

jgi-1 

229 

*8o 

J34 

1864  

33>X7° 

•IT  QO8 

7*8 

1834   

;|l  

2°" 
633 
1,098 

253 
465 

35,o85 
36,801 

1,177 
1,716 

j8*7  

I  4-Q7 

224 

868 

4.2  22Q 

18^8  . 

I  QI^ 

416 

869  . 

46  844 

4  6lS 

tsq 

870 

6  078 

1840 

2  818 

,5oy 

erg 

1871      . 

184.1 

•5  C7C 

717 

1872  . 

w,jy.5 
66  171 

c  878 

1842 

1877 

7O  268 

1841  . 

4l85 

ICQ 

1874  

72  *8<; 

2  117 

1844  .  . 

4-577 

IQ2 

1875  

I  711 

1845  .  . 

4  6^ 

256 

1876   .... 

76  808 

2  712 

isli  . 

4  Q^O 

X877  

7Q  088 

2  280 

1847  .  . 
1848  .  . 

5,598 

c  006 

668 

1878  
1879  

1?:767 

86  584 

2,679 

4  817 

7  *6s 

I  *6q 

1880  .... 

6  712 

1850  ..... 

9  02  1 

I  6<;6 

1881      .  . 

9  847 

1851  

10  982 

i  061 

1882    .  .  . 

ii  560 

1852  

12  908 

i,yui 

1883    .  .  . 

6  74* 

iSs*.  . 

It:  -j(x) 

x884  

*  Q24 

1854  
1855  .... 

16,720 

1  8  *74 

1,360 
I  6^4 

1885  ...   . 
1886 

128,361 

2,982 

8  018 

1856  
1857  

22,016 
24  SO* 

i>"0^ 

3,642 

M87 

149-257 

12,878 
6016 

1858  . 

26  968 

2  46<5 

1880 

161  319 

5146 

1859  
1860  

28,789 
30,626 

1,821 
1,837 

1890  ... 
1891  ... 

166,817 
171,079 

5,498 
4,262 

THE   A    13    C    OF    IRON. 


RAILROAD  MILEAGE  BY  STATES. 

The  number  of  miles  of  railroad  in  each  State  and 
Territory  of  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  1891  is 
shown  in  the  following  table : 


States. 

Miles. 

States. 

Miles. 

Maine    

1,383.26 
i  144  88 

Louisiana     

1,880.01 
6  I?8  45 

Texas            .           .... 

8  812  67 

889087 

New  York 

New  Jersey  

2,132.41 

8  QIQ  08 

Indian  Country  j 

1,272  08 

Delaware  

320.12 

I,26Q  AA 

Oklahoma  Ter.J    ' 

8.4^6  5i 

District  of  Columbia 

2O66 

c  670  88 

8,  167  63 

Nebraska         

North  Dakota     

South  Dakota             .   .   . 

Illinois 

10  189  38 

c  ngc  gi 

West  Virginia     .... 

1,547.11 

1,503.52 

North  Carolina  .... 

3.205.46 

Washington    

Nevada 

2,309.23 

Q22    l8 

4,870.  2  5 

Arizona  Territory  .        .    . 

1,097.57 

256687 

i  ^5  66 

2  062  45 

Idaho                    ...«-. 

Q5Q68 

Tennessee    

2,996.20 

MississioDi  . 

2,440.10 

Total.    . 

170,601.18 

STATISTICS. 


8l 


The  Manual  for  the  same  year  gives  the  proportion 
of  railroad  track  in  th'e  United  States  which  had  been 
laid  with  steel  rails  and  iron  rails  from  1880  to  the  end 
of  1891,  as  follows  : 


Years. 

Miles  of 
steel  rails. 

Miles   of 
iron   rails. 

Total  miles. 

Per  cent, 
steel  of  total. 

1880           .                                    .    . 

^680 

81  067 

1881             .... 

8l  47^ 

1882 

66691 

l88l.    . 

78,4.0! 

7O  602 

I4Q  l8^ 

1884      . 

66  254 

576 

i88«; 

1886  
1887  

105,724 
125  45Q 

62,324 

cq  S88 

168,048 
185  O47 

62.9 
67.7 

1888  

1^8  5l6 

52  Q8  1 

72  •* 

1880.   . 

l8OO 

167  606 

80/1 

l8qi 

STM 

In  the  above  figures  all  tracks  are  included.  In  the 
period  covered  by  the  table  the  mileage  of  iron  rails  had 
decreased  50  per  cent.,  while  that  of  steel  rails  had 
increased  nearly  400  per  cent.  Over  80  per  cent,  of  our 
tracks  is  laid  with  steel  rails. 


82  THE    ABC    OF    IKON. 


HISTORY  OF  IRON  IN  ALL  AGES. 


Mr.  Swank  has  very  kindly  given  the  author  permission  to  extract  from 
his  work  on  the  above  subject  interesting  data  concerning  the  early  his- 
tory and  uses  of  iron,  and  we  will  conclude  this  work  with  a  chapter  under 
this  head.  Mr.  Swank's  book  of  over  five  hundred  pages  is  so  replete 
with  the  most  interesting  history  of  the  processes,  places,  and  persons 
identified  with  the  iron  industry,  that  the  extracts,  necessarily  limited,  give 
but  little  idea  of  the  scope  and  detail  of  this  most  valuable  contribution 
to  iron  literature.  The  work  is  almost  indispensable  to  one  who  would 
familiarize  himself  with  the  inception  and  progress  of  the  iron  industry  in 
this  country.  It  not  only  preserves  in  chronological  order  a  record  of  the 
beginning  of  the  iron  industry  in  every  country,  and  in  every  section  of 
our  own  country,  but  gives  an  individual  history  of  all  persons  in  any  way 
intimately  associated  with  its  development. 


EARLY  HISTORY  AND  MANUFACT- 
URE OF  IRON. 


The  use  of  iron  can  be  traced  to  the  earliest  ages  of 
antiquity.  Copper  and  bronze,  or  brass,  may  have  been 
used  at  as  early  a  period  as  iron,  and  for  many  centuries 
after  their  use  began  they  undoubtedly  superseded  iron 
to  a  large  extent,  but  the  common  theory  that  there  was 
a  copper  or  a  bronze  age  before  iron  was  either  known 
or  used  is  discredited  by  Old  Testament  history,  by  the 
earlier  as  well  as  the  later  literature  of  the  ancient  Greeks, 
and  by  the  discoveries  of  modern  antiquarians. 

In  his  inaugural  address  as  President  of  the  Iron  and 
Steel  Institute,  delivered  in  May,  1885,  Dr.  John  Percy, 
the  eminent  English  metallurgist,  briefly  considered  the 
question  whether  iron  was  or  was  not  used  before  bronze. 
He  said  :  ''It  has  always  appeared  to  me  reasonable  to 
infer  from  metallurgical  considerations  that  the  age  of 
iron  would  have  preceded  the  age  of  bronze.  The  prim- 
itive method,  not  yet  wholly  extinct,  of  extracting  iron 
from  its  ores  is  a  much  simpler  process  than  that  of  pro- 
ducing bronze,  and  it  indicates  a  much  less  advanced 
state  of  the  metallurgic  arts.  In  the  case  of  iron  all 
that  is  necessary  is  to  heat  the  ore  strongly  in  contact 
with  charcoal ;  whereas,  in  the  case  of  bronze,  which  is 

(S3) 


84  THE   ABC    OF    IRON. 

an  alloy  of  copper  and  tin,  both  copper  and  tin  have  to 
be  obtained  by  smelting  their  respective  ores  separately, 
to  be  subsequently  melted  together  in  due  proportions, 
and  the  resulting  alloy  to  be  cast  into  moulds,  requiring 
considerable  skill  in  their  preparation." 

Iron  was  doubtless  first  used  in  Western  Asia,  the 
birth-place  of  the  human  race,  and  in  the  northern  parts 
of  Africa  which  are  near  to  Asia.  Most  authorities 
admit  that  Tubal  Cain,  who  was  born  in  the  seventh 
generation  from  Adam,  was  the  inventor  of  the  foundry. 
Geology  tells  us  that  castings  may  have  been  made 
before  the  times  of  Tubal  Cain,  but  the  evidence  of 
bronze  castings  before  the  days  of  Tubal  Cain  are  not 
plentiful  and  frequently  are  mere  conjecture.  He  is 
described  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Genesis  as  "an  in- 
structor of  every  artificer  in  brass  and  iron,"  and  in  the 
revised  version  as  "the  forger  of  every  cutting  instru- 
ment of  brass  and  iron." 

The  Egyptians,  whose  civilization  is  the  most  ancient 
of  which  we  have  any  exact  knowledge,  were  at  an  early 
period  familiar  with  both  the  use  and  the  manufacture  of 
iron,  although  very  little  ore  has  ever  been  found  within 
the  boundaries  of  Egypt  itself.  Herodotus  tells  us  that 
iron  tools  were  used  in  the  construction  of  the  pyramids. 
In  the  sepulchres  at  Thebes  and  Memphis,  cities  of  such 
great  antiquity  that  their  origin  is  lost  in  obscurity, 
butchers  are  represented  as  using  tools  the  colors  of 


EARLY    HISTORY    OF   IRON.  85 

which  lead  antiquarians  to  conclude  that  they  were  made 
of  iron  and  steel. 

The  reference  to  iron  in  Deuteronomy  iv,  20,  appar- 
ently indicates  that  in  the  time  of  Moses  the  Egyptians 
were  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  iron,  and  that  the 
Israelites  were  at  least  as  familiar  with  the  art  as  their 
task-masters.  "  But  the  Lord  hath  taken  you  and 
brought  you  forth  out  of  the  iron  furnace,  even  out  of 
Egypt." 

A  small  piece  of  very  pure  iron  was  found  under  the 
obelisk  which  was  removed  'from  Alexandria  to  New 
York  in  1880  by  Commander  Gorringe,  of  the  United 
States  Navy.  This  obelisk  was  erected  by  Thothmes 
the  Third  at  Heliopolis  about  sixteen  hundred  years 
before  Christ,  and  removed  to  Alexandria  twenty-two 
years  before  the  Christian  era.  The  iron  found  under 
it  was  therefore  at  least  nineteen  hundred  years  old. 

Iron  is  frequently  mentioned  in  the  story  of  the 
wanderings  of  the  children  of  Israel.  Canaan,  the  land 
of  promise,  is  described  by  Moses,  in  Deuteronomy 
viii,  9,  as  "a  land  whose  stones  are  iron."  Iron  is  said 
to  be  still  made  in  small  quantities  in  the  Lebanon  Mount- 
ains. The  manufacture  was  diversified,  for  we  read  of 
chariots  of  iron,  agricultural  implements  and  tools  of 
iron.  Axes,  saws,  and  hammers  of  iron  are  men- 
tioned during  the  reign  of  David.  Isaiah  speaks  of  har- 
rows of  iron,  and  in  the  tenth  chapter,  thirty-fourth  verse 


86  THE   A    13   C   OF    IRON. 

clearly  refers  to  axes,  when  he  says,  "  and  he  shall  cut 
down  the  thickets  of  the  forest  wfth  iron." 

The  great  strength  of  iron  is  frequently  referred  to 
in  the  Old  Testament.  In  Psalms  ii,  9,  we  read : 
"  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron,"  and  in 
Psalm  cvii,  10,  we  read  of  those  who  sit  in  darkness  as 
"  being  bound  in  affliction  and  iron."  Daniel  says  that 
"  iron  breaketh  in  pieces  and  subdueth  all  things." 

In  the  Koran  of  Mohammed,  fifty-seventh  chapter, 
is  found  this  sentence  :  "  And  we  sent  them  down  iron, 
wherein  is  mighty  strength  for  war."  The  legend 
embodied  in  the  note  of  the  commentator  to  the  first 
phrase  is  curious.  It  runs  as  follows :  "  That  is,  we 
taught  them  to  dig  iron  from  the  mines.  Al-Zamakshari 
adds  that  Adam  is  said  to  have  brought  down  with  him 
from  the  Paradise  five  things  made  of  iron,  viz.:  an  anvil, 
a  pair  of  tongs,  two  hammers,  a  greater  and  a  lesser, 
and  a  needle/' 

Steel  also  was  made  before  the  Christian  era.  Day 
says  that  in  the  British  Museum  are  iron  and  steel  tools, 
probably  three  thousand  years  old.  Ages  ago  the  city 
of  Damascus  manufactured  its  famous  swords  from 
Indian  and  Persian  steel.  Swords  are  still  made  at 
Damascus,  but  of  inferior  quality.  The  cutlers  of  India, 
however,  now  make  the  best  of  swords  from  native  steel. 
George  Thompson  told  Wendell  Phillips  that  he  saw  a 
man  in  Calcutta  throw  a  handful  of  floss  silk  into  the 
air  which  a  Hindoo  cut  into  pieces  with  his  sabre. 


EARLY    HISTORY   OF    IRON.  87 

We  have  given  references  that  are  conclusive  as  to 
the  early  use  of  iron,  but  it  is  worthy  of  note,  as  afford- 
ing additional  proof,  that  the  mythologies  of  both  Greece 
and  Egypt  attribute  the  invention  of  manufacturing  iron 
to  the  gods,  thus  showing  the  great  antiquity  of  the  art 
in  both  these  countries. 

The  poems  of  Homer,  written  about  eight  hundred 
years  before  Christ,  make  frequent  mention  of  iron.  The 
art  of  hardening  and  tempering  steel  is  fully  described 
in  the  reference  to  the  plunging  of  the  fire-brand  of 
Ulysses  into  the  eye  of  Polyphemus,  an  act  which  is 
likened  to  that  of  the  smith  who  "plunges  the  loud  hiss- 
ing axe  into  cold  water  to  temper  it,  for  hence  is  the 
strength  of  iron." 

We  follow  the  author  on  down  through  the  Grecian 
period,  viewing  with  wonder  their  proficiency  in  the  use 
and  skill  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  steel  and  the  art 
of  metallurgy.  After  the  lapse  of  twenty-five  centuries, 
from  this  little  island  of  Elba  where  the  Greeks  got  all 
their  ores  when  Rome  was  founded,  we  are  receiving 
many  cargoes  annually.  We  can  not  linger  with  the 
author  in  his  description  of  the  battering-ram,  the  grap- 
pling-irons and  the  javelins  of  the  Romans. 

After  the  fall  of  Rome,  Spain  revived  the  iron  indus- 
try, their  Catalan  forges  lighting  up  the  forests  of  the 
Pyrenees  in  every  direction.  These  Catalan  forges  have 
been  introduced  into  every  civilized  country  of  modern 
times,  and  still  exist  in  almost  their  original  simplicity  in 


88  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

the  mountains  of  both  Spain  and  France,  and  even  in 
the  Southern  States  of  our  own  country. 

The  modern  blast  furnace  is  supposed  to  have  origi- 
nated in  the  Rhine  provinces  about  the  beginning  of  the 
fourteenth  century,  but  whether  in  France,  Germany  or 
Belgium,  is  not  known.  It  is  claimed  by  Landrin  that 
there  were  many  blast  furnaces  in  France  about  1450. 
Alexander  states  that  in  the  latter  half  of  the  sixteenth 
century  there  was  a  blast  furnace  in  the  Hartz  Mount- 
ains in  Germany,  which  was  twenty-four  feet  high  and 
six  feet  wide  at  the  boshes,  built  by  Hanssien  a  Voight- 
lander. 

Blast  furnaces  were  not  introduced  into  England 
until  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Prior  to 
this,  all  iron  made  there  was  produced  in  Catalan  forges 
or  high  bloomaries  directly  from  the  ore  and  was,  there- 
fore, when  finished,  wrought  or  bar  iron.  John  Ray,  the 
naturalist,  in  1672,  describes  in  two  papers  appended  to 
his  "Collection  of  English  Words,"  the  blast  furnaces 
and  forges  as  they  existed  in  England  in  his  day.  He 
got  his  account  from  One  of  the  chief  iron  masters  of 
Sussex,  Walter  Burrell,  Esq.,  of  Cuckfield,  deceased. 

THE  MANNER  OF  THE  IRON  WORK  AT  THE  FURNACE- 
"The  iron  mine  (ore)  lies  sometimes  deeper,  sometimes  shallower,  in 
the  earth,  from  four  to  forty  (feet)  and  upward.  There  are  several  sorts  of 
mine — some  hard,  some  gentle,  some  rich,  some  coarser.  The  iron  masters 
always  mix  different  sorts  of  mine  together,  otherwise  they  will  not  melt 
to  advantage.  When  the  mine  is  brought  in,  they  take  small-coal  (char- 
coal) and  lay  a  row  of  it,  and  upon  that  a  row  of  mine,  and  so  alternately 


EARLY    HISTORY  OF    IRON.  89 

S.  S.  S.,  one  above  another,  and,  setting  the  coals  on  fire,  therewith  burn 
the  mine.  The  use  of  this  burning  is  to  modify  it,  that  so  it  may  be  broke 
in  small  pieces  ;  otherwise  if  it  should  be  put  into  the  furnace  as  it  comes 
out  of  the  earth  it  would  not  melt,  but  come  away  whole.  Care  also  must 
be  taken  that  it  be  not  too  much  burned,  for  then  it  will  loop,  i.  e.,  melt  and 
run  together  in  a  mass.  After  it  is  burnt  they  beat  it  into  small  pieces 
with  an  iron  sledge,  and  then  put  it  into  the  furnace  (which  is  before 
charged  with  coals),  casting  it  upon  the  top  of  the  coals,  where  it  melts 
and  falls  into  the  hearth,  in  the  space  of  about  twelve  hours,  more  or  less, 
and  then  it  runs  into  a  sow. 

The  hearth,  or  bottom  of  the  furnace,  is  made  of  sand  stone,  and  the 
sides  round,  to  the  height  of  a  yard,  or  thereabout;  the  rest  of  the  fur- 
nace is  lined  up  to  the  top  with  brick.  When  they  begin  upon  a  new 
furnace  they  put  fire  for  a  day  or  two  before  they  begin  to  blow.  Then 
they  blow  gently  and  increase  by  degrees  'till  they  come  to  the  height  in 
ten  weeks  or  more.  Every  six  days  they  call  a  Founday,  in  which  space 
they  make  eight  tun  of  iron,  if  you  divide  the  whole  sum  of  iron  made  by 
the  foundays  ;  for  at  first  they  make  less  in  a  founday,  at  last  more. 

The  hearth,  by  the  force  of  the  fire,  continually  blown,  grows  wider  and 
wider,  so  that  at  first  it  contains  so  much  as  will  make  a  sow  of  six  or  seven 
hundred  pounds  weight ;  at  last  it  will  contain  so  much  as  will  make  a  sow 
of  two  thousand  pounds.  The  lesser  pieces,  of  one  thousand  pounds  or 
under,  they  call  pigs. 

Of  twenty-four  loads  of  coal  they  expect  eight  tuns  of  sow ;  to  every 
load  of  coals,  which  consist  of  eleven  quarters,  they  put  a  load  of  mine, 
which  contains  eighteen  bushels.  A  hearth  ordinarily,  if  made  of  good 
stone,  will  last  forty  foundays  ;  that  is,  forty  weeks,  during  which  time  the 
fire  is  never  let  go  out.  They  never  blow  twice  upon  one  hearth,  though 
they  go  upon  it  not  above  five  or  six  foundays.  The  cinder,  like  scum, 
swims  upon  the  melted  metal  in  the  hearth,  and  is  let  out  once  or  twice 
before  a  sow  is  cast. 

THE  MANNER  OF  WORKING  THE  IRON  AT  THE  FORGE  OR  HAMMER. 

In  every  forge  or  hammer  there  are  two  fires  at  least ;  the  one  they  call 
\\izfinery,  the  other  the  chafery.  At  the  finery,  by  the  working  of  the  ham- 
mer, they  bring  it  into  blooms  and  anconies,  thus  : 

The  sow  they,  at  first,  roll  into  the  fire,  and  melt  off  a  piece  of  about 
three-fourths  of  a  hundred  weight,  which,  so  soon  as  it  is  broken  off,  is 


90  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

called  a  loop.  This  loop  they  take  out  with  their  shingling  tongs,  and  beat 
it  with  iron  sledges  upon  an  iron  plate  near  the  fire,  so  that  it  may  not  fall 
in  pieces,  but  be  in  a  capacity  to  be  carried  under  the  hammer.  Under 
which  they,  then  removing  it,  and  drawing  a  little  water,  beat  it  with  the 
hammer  very  gently,  which  forces  cinder  and  dross  out  of  the  matter  ; 
afterwards,  by  degrees,  drawing  more  water,  they  beat  it  thicker  and 
stronger  'till  they  bring  it  to  a  bloom,  which  is  a  four-square  mass  of  about 
two  feet  long.  This  operation  they  call  sh ingling  the  loop.  This  done,  they 
immediately  return  it  to  the  finery  again,  and,  after  two  or  three  heats  and 
workings,  they  bring  it  to  an  ancony,  the  figure  whereof  is,  in  the  middle, 
a  bar  about  three  feet  long,  of  that  shape  they  intend  the  whole  bar  to  be 
made  of  it ;  at  both  ends  a  square  piece  left  rough  to  be  wrought  at  the 
chafery. 

Note. — At  the  finery  three  load  of  the  biggest  coals  go  to  make  one  tun 
of  iron.  At  the  chafery  they  only  draw  out  the  two  ends  suitable  to  what 
was  drawn  out  at  the  finery  in  the  middle,  and  so  finish  the  bar. 

Note. — I.  One  load  of  the  smaller  coals  will  draw  out  one  tun  of  iron  at 
the  chafery.  2.  They  expect  that  one  man  and  a  boy  at  the  finer}'  should 
make  two  tuns  of  iron  in  a  week;  two  men  at  the  chafery  should  take  up 
i.  e.,  make  or  work,  five  or  six  tun  in  a  week.  3.  If  into  the  hearth  where 
they  work  the  iron  sows  (whether  in  the  chafery  or  finery)  you  cast  upon 
the  iron  a  piece  of  brass  it  will  hinder  the  metal  from  working,  causing  it 
to  spatter  about,  so  that  it  cannot  be  brought  into  a  solid  piece. 

The  English  blast  furnaces  and  refinery  forges  which 
have  been  described  were  counterparts  of  Continental 
furnaces  and  forges  of  the  same  period.  The  erection 
of  the  first  coke  blast  furnace  on  the  Continent  of  Europe 
was  commenced  in  1823,  at  Seraing,  in  Belgium,  by  John 
Cockerill,  an  Englishman  by  birth  but  a  Belgian  citizen, 
and  completed  in  1826,  when  it  was  successfully  blown 
in.  Other  coke  furnaces  in  Belgium  and  elsewhere  on 
the  continent  soon  followed.  In  1769  an  attempt  to 
smelt  iron  ores  by  means  of  coke  was  made  at  Juslen- 
ville,  near  Spa,  in  Belgium,  but  without  success. 


EARLY    HISTORY    OF    IRON.  9 1 

One  of  the  coke  furnaces  of  the  Hoerde  iron  works 
in  Germany  is  said  to  have  been  continuously  in  blast 
from  July  3,  1855,  to  May  29,  1874,  or  almost  nineteen 
years. 

The  manufacture  of  pig  iron  with  mineral  fuel  was 
greatly  facilitated  by  the  invention  of  a  cylindrical  cast- 
iron  bellows  by  John  Smeaton,  in  1760,^0  take  the  place 
of  wooden  or  leather  bellows,  and  by  the  improvements 
made  in  the  steam  engine  by  James  Watts,  about  1 769 ; 
both  these  valuable  accessions  to  blast  furnace  machinery 
being  used  for  the  first  time,  through  the  influence  of 
Dr.  Roebuck,  at  the  Carron  iron  works  in  Scotland. 
The  effect  of  their  introduction  was  to  greatly  increase 
the  blast  and  consequently  to  increase  the  production 
of  iron.  The  blast,  however,  continued  to  be  cold  at  all 
the  furnaces,  both  coke  and  charcoal,  and  so  remained 
until  1828,  when  James  Beaumont  Neilson,  of  Scotland, 
invented  the  hot  blast,  which  is  now  in  general  use  in  all 
iron-making  countries.  The  origin  of  the  rolling  mill 
for  rolling  iron  into  bars,  or  plates,  is  not  free  from 
doubt.  In  1783,  Henry  Cort,  of  Gosport,  England, 
obtained  a  patent  for  rolling  iron  into  bars  with  grooved 
iron  rolls,  and  in  the  following  year  he  obtained  a  patent 
for  converting  pig  iron  into  malleable  iron  by  means  of  a 
puddling  furnace. 

We  find,  however,  that  John  Payne  and  Major  Han- 
bury  rolled  sheet  iron  as  early  as  1728  at  Pontypool,  and 
patents  were  granted  to  other  Englishmen  before  Cort's 


Q2  THE    A   B   C   OF   IRON. 

day.  To  the  important  improvements  made  by  Cort, 
however,  the  iron  trade  of  Great  Britain  is  greatly 
indebted.  With  mineral  fuel,  powerful  blowing  engines, 
the  puddling  furnace,  and  grooved  rolls  Great  Britain 
rapidly  passed  to  the  front  of  all  iron-making  nations. 

Steel  was  largely  made  in  England  as  early  as  1609, 
and  most  probably  in  cementation  furnaces,  the  product 
being  known  as  blister  steel  and  shear  steel.  The  man- 
ufacture of  steel  by  cementation,  however,  did  not  orig- 
inate in  England,  but  on  the  continent.  In  the  year 
mentioned,  John  Hawes  held  the  site  of  the  Abbey  of 
Robertsbridge  in  Sussex,  upon  which  were  eight  steel 
"  furnaces."  The  invention  of  crucible  cast  steel  origi- 
nated with  Benjamin  Huntsman,  an  English  clock- 
maker,  at  Sheffield,  in  1740,  and  not  only  Sheffield,  the 
principal  seat  of  its  manufacture  and  of  the  manufacture 
of  all  kinds  of  cutlery,  but  all  England  as  well  was 
greatly  profited  by  his  discovery. 

Percy  says  of  the  cementation  process,  by  which 
until  in  late  years  most  of  the  steel  of  Europe  and 
America  was  produced :  "  This  is  an  old  process,  but 
little  is  known  of  its  history.  According  to  Beckmann, 
there  is  no  allusion  to  it  in  the  writings  of  the  ancients." 
Laudrin  says:  "Germany  is  also  the  first  country  where 
it  was  proposed  to  cement  iron.  Thence  this  art  came 
to  France,  and  was  introduced  at  New  Castle-on-Tyne, 
long  before  it  was  known  at  Sheffield,  the  present  center 
of  that  fabrication."  The  word  cementation  is  derived 


EARLY    HISTORY    OF    IRON.  93 

from  the  former  use  with  charcoal  of  chemical  composi- 
tions called  cements,  which  were,  however,  not  needed. 

We  have,  in  the  preceding  pages,  traced  the  early 
uses  and  history  of  iron  in  the  Old  World,  and  will  now 
review  briefly  its  progress  in  this  country. 

In  no  other  part  of  the  American  continent  has  the 
manufacture  of  iron  ever  risen  to  the  dignity  of  a  great 
national  industry,  and  only  in  Canada  of  all  the  political 
divisions  of  North  or  South  America  outside  of  the 
United  States  has  a  serious  effort  been  made  to  develop 
native  iron  resources.  Indeed  it  is  only  in  the  northern 
latitudes  in  both  hemispheres  that  iron  is  made  in  large 
or  even  noticeable  quantities.  This  fact  is  only  in  part 
due  to  geological  reasons.  Climate  and  race  tendencies 
have  had  much  to  do  with  the  development  of  the 
metallurgical  and  all  other  productive  industries  in  the 
belt  of  the  earth's  surface  above  alluded  to,  and  which 
may  well  be  called  the  iron-making  belt. 

Foster,  in  his  Pre-historic  Races  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  says  that  "  no  implement  of  iron  has  been 
found  in  connection  with  the  ancient  civilization  of 
America.  "  He  fully  establishes  the  fact  that  the  mound- 
builders  manufactured  copper  into  various  domestic  and 
war-like  implements,  but  adds  that  the  Indians  of  North 
America  did  not  use  copper  in  any  form,  although  those 
of  Central  and  South  America  did. 

Prescott,  the  historian  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico 
and  Peru,  says  that  the  native  inhabitants  of  these 


94  THE   A    B   C   OF    IRON. 

countries,  who  were  at  the  time  of  the  conquest  the 
most  advanced  in  all  the  arts  of  civilization  of  the 
immediate  predecessors  of  the  white  race  in  North  and 
South  America,  were  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  iron, 
copper  serving  them  as  a  substitute. 

Our  North  American  Indians  were  certainly  unac- 
quainted with  the  use  of  iron  when  the  Spaniards,  the 
English,  the  Dutch,  and  other  Europeans  first  landed  on 
the  Atlantic  coast.  Stone  was  used,  instead  of  metal, 
for  their  tools.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Dodridge  ex- 
pressed the  opinion  that  "at  the  discovery  of  America, 
the  Indians  knew  nothing  of  the  use  of  iron.  Any 
people  who  have  ever  been  in  the  habit  of  using  iron 
will  be  sure  to  leave  some  indelible  traces  of  its  use 
behind  them ;  but  the  aborigines  of  this  country  have 
left  none." 

Professor  Putnam,  of  Harvard  University,  the  arch- 
aeologist, found  in  the  ancient  mounds  of  Ohio  masses  of 
meteoric  iron  and  various  implements  and  ornaments 
made  by  hammering  pieces  of  meteoric  iron.  This 
native  iron  the  ancient  people  of  Ohio  used  the  same  as 
they  did  native  silver  or  native  gold,  simply  as  a  malleable 
metal.  None  of  the  peoples,  he  is  confident,  understood 
smelting  iron  or  in  any  way  manufacturing  it  from  iron 
ore.  And  it  was  only  after  contact  with  Europeans  that 
the  Indian  tribes  obtained  iron  in  various  forms,  and  in 
due  time  learned  to  heat  it  and  shape  it  as  a  blacksmith 
would  do. 


EARLY    HISTORY   OF    IRON.  95 

To  North  Carolina  belongs  the  distinction  of  first 
giving  to  Europeans  the  information  that  iron  ore 
existed  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States.  The 
discovery  was  made  in  1585  by  the  expedition  fitted  out 
by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  and  commanded  by  Ralph  Lane, 
which  made,  on  Roanoke  Island,  in  that  year,  the  first 
attempt  to  plant  an  English  settlement  on  the  Atlantic 
coast.  Lane  and  his  men  explored  the  country  along 
the  Roanoke  and  on  both  sides  from  Elizabeth  river  to 
the  Neuse.  Thomas  Harriot,  the  historian  of  the 
colony  and  the  servant  of  Sir  Walter,  says  that  "in  two 
places  of  the  countrey  specially,  one  about  foure  score 
and  the  other  six  score  miles  from  the  fort  or  place 
where  wee  dwelt,  wee  founde  neere  the  water  side  the 
ground  to  be  rockie,  which,  by  the  triall  of  a  minerall 
man  was  founde  to  hold  iron  richly.  It  is  founde  in 
manie  places  of  the  countrey  else ;  I  know  nothing  to  the 
contrarie  but  that  it  maie  be  allowed  for  a  good  mar- 
chantable  commoditie,  considering  there  the  small 
charge  for  the  labour  and  feeding  of  the  men ;  the 
infinite  store  of  wood ;  the  want  of  wood  and  deere- 
nesse  thereof  in  England ;  and  the  necessity  of  ballast- 
ing of  shippes." 

No  attempt  was  made  to  utilize  this  discovery,  as  the 
colonists  were  in  search  of  gold  and  not  iron.  In  1586 
they  quarreled  with  the  Indians  and  returned  to  Eng- 
land. Iron  ore  was  not  mined  in  North  Carolina,  nor 


96  THE    A    B    C    OF    IRON. 

was  iron  made  within  her  boundaries  until  after  many 
other  colonies  had  commenced  to  make  iron. 

The  first  iron  made  from  American  ore  was  in  the 
year  1608,  and  the  ore  came  from  Virginia.  The  vessel 
containing  same  sailed  from  Jamestown,  and  reached 
England  May  2Oth.  The  ore  was  smelted  and  seven- 
teen tons  sold  at  £  4  per  ton  to  the  East  India  Com- 
pany. 

The  first  attempt  to  make  iron  in  this  country  was 
by  the  Virginia  Company  in  1619.  The  enterprise  was 
located  on  Falling  creek,  a  tributary  of  the  James  river, 
which  it  enters  about  seven  miles  below  Richmond. 
The  work  of  establishing  the  plant  was  deterred  by  the 
death  of  three  of  the  master  workmen,  when,  in  1621, 
John  Berkley  was  sent  over  with  his  son  and  twenty 
experienced  workmen.  Before  their  completion,  in 
March,  1622,  in  an  Indian  massacre  Berkley  and  all  his 
men  were  slain  and  the  works  destroyed.  In  1624  the 
charter  of  the  Virginia  Company  was  revoked,  and  thus 
disastrously  ended  the  first  attempt  of  Europeans  to 
make  iron  in  America. 

The  first  successful  iron  works  were  established  in 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  not  far  from  Lynn, 
between  1643  an(^  J645-  The  place  was  at  that  time 
called  Hammersmith,  after  a  place  of  that  name  in  Eng- 
land, from  which  place  several  of  the  principal  workmen 
came.  Joseph  Jenks  prepared  molds  for  the  first  cast- 
ings that  were  made  at  Lynn.  "  A  small  iron  pot, 


EARLY   HISTORY   OF   IRON.  97 

capable  of  containing  about  one  quart,"  was  the  first 
article  cast  at  the  furnace.  This  first  iron  utensil  cast 
in  this  country  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Messrs. 
Llewellyn  and  Arthur  Lewis,  of  Lynn,  who  are  the  lineal 
descendants  of  Thomas  Hudson,  the  first  owner  of  the 
lands  on  Saugus  river,  on  which  the  iron  works  were 
built,  and  who  obtained  possession  of  the  pot  imme- 
diately after  it  was  cast. 

With  the  exception  of  the  blast  furnace,  which  was 
slowly  developed  from  the  high  bloomary,  and  of  the 
cementation  process  for  producing  steel,  which  doubtless 
originated  during  the  period  when  the  blast  furnace  was 
developed,  no  important  improvements  in  the  manufact- 
ure of  iron  and  steel  occurred  from  the  revival  of  the 
iron  industry  in  Europe  about  the  beginning  of  the 
eighth  century  until  we  reach  the  series  of  improvements 
and  inventions  in  the  eighteenth  century,  a  period  of  a 
thousand  years. 

It  is  about  one  hundred  years  since  Henry  Cort 
prominently  brought  the  rolling  mill  and  the  puddling 
furnace  to  the  attention  of  the  iron-making  world,  and 
scarcely  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  since  coke  was  first 
successfully  used  in  the  blast  furnace,  and  steel  was  first 
made  in  England  in  crucibles. 

Since  Huntsman's  invention,  which  still  gives  us  our 
best  steel,  there  have  been  many  other  improvements  in 
the  manufacture  of  steel,  and  more  recently  there  has 


98  THE    ABC    OF    IRON. 

been  a  very  great  relative  increase  in  its  production  and 
use  as  compared  with  iron,  until  it  has  become  a 
hackneyed  expression  that  this  is  the  Age  of  Steel. 
While  this  is  true  in  the  sense  that  steel  is  replacing 
iron,  it  is  well  to  remember  that  the  ancients  made  steel 
of  excellent  quality,  and  that  the  art  of  manufacturing  it 
was  never  lost,  and  has  never  been  neglected.  The 
swords  of  Damascus,  and  the  blades  of  Toledo  bear 
witness  to  the  skill  in  the  manufacture  of  steel  which 
existed  at  an  early  day  in  both  Asia  and  Europe. 
German  steel  was  widely  celebrated  for  its  excellence 
during  the  middle  ages,  and  steel  of  the  same  name, 
and  made  by  the  same  process,  still  occupies  an  hon- 
orable place  among  the  metallurgical  products.  Even 
Huntsman's  invention  of  the  art  of  making  the  finest 
quality  of  steel  in  crucibles,  while  meritorious  in  itself, 
was  but  the  reproduction  and  amplification  in  a  modern 
age  of  a  process  for  manufacturing  steel  of  equal  quality 
which  was  known  to  the  people  of  India  thousands  of 
years  ago. 

The  ancient  and  the  early  European  processes  for 
the  manufacture  of  both  iron  and  steel  do  not  compare 
unfavorably  with  those  of  modern  times  in  the  quality  of 
the  products  they  yielded.  Modern  processes  excel 
those  which  they  have  replaced  more  in  the  uniformity 
and  quantity  of  their  products  than  in  their  quality. 

In  the  present  age,  mechanical  skill  of  the  highest 


EARLY    HISTORY    OF   IRON.  99 

order  unites  with  the  subtle  operations  of  the  chemist 
to  produce  iron  and  steel  in  such  quantities,  and  with 
such  uniformity  of  product,  as  to  amaze  the  student  of 
history,  the  political  economist,  the  practical  statesman, 
and  the  man  of  all  wisdom. 


INDEX. 


Iron — What  Is  It  ? 7 

Pig  Iron — An  account  of  Blast  Furnace  Process     ....  1 1 

Constituents  of  Iron 20 

Carbon  in  Cast  Iron , 21 

Silicon  in  Cast  Iron 24 

Phosphorus  in  Cast  Iron 29 

Manganese  in  Cast  Iron 31 

Sulphur  in  Cast  Iron 35 

Numbering  of  Iron 37 

Analyses 4] 

Grading  of  Iron 43 

How  to  Reduce  Cost  of  Mixture 46 

Steel — Description  of  Several  Processes 49 

Physical  Properties  of  Metals  Defined 55 

Shrinkage  of  Castings 56 

Weights  of  Castings  from  Patterns 57 

Table  of  Tenacities  and  Resistances 58 

Formula  for  Mending  Castings 59 

Test  for  Sulphur  in  Coke 59 

Iron  Ores — How  Classified 61 

vStatistics 62-65 

Pig    Iron — Growth  of  Manufacture 66 

Consumption  per  Capita 67 

Blast  Furnace  Capacity 68 

Production  by  States 70 

(100) 


PAGE. 

Steel — Production 70 

"        Production  of  each  Variety 71 

Steel  Rail  Production 72 

Iron  and  Steel— World's  Production 74 

Iron  Ore — World's  Production 74 

Coal — World's  Production 74 

Production  of  Leading  Articles  in  Iron  and  Steel   ....  75 

Grand  Summary 77 

Railroads — Mileage 77 

Rolling  Stock 77 

;'  Assets  and  Liabilities 78 

Mileage  by  Years 79 

Mileage  by  States So 

Miles  of  Iron  and  Steel  Rails 81 

Early  History  and  Manufacture  of  Iron 83-99 


(101) 


CLASSIFIED  BUSINESS  DIRECTORY. 


IRON  ORE. 

PICKANDS,  BROWN  &  CO 1 16 

PICKANDS,  MATHER  &  CO 116 

COKE. 

L.  E.  OVERMAN  &  CO -. 115 

COKE  AND  COAL. 

L.  E.  OVERMAN  &  CO 115 

GEO.  H.   HULL  &  CO 107 

E.  B.  BLANDY 118 

COPPER. 

CRAMER  £  BURT. . , 105 

STEEL. 

E.  B.  BLANDY 1 18 

IRON  AND  STEEL  FOUNDERS. 

THE  CONGDON  BRAKE  SHOE  CO 108 

FOUNDRY  SUPPLIES. 

S.  OBERMAYER  &  CO 109 

MILLINGTON  WHITE  SAND  CO 104 

CHICAGO  FOUNDRY   SUPPLY  CO :...  113 

DETROIT  FOUNDRY    EQUIPMENT  CO....  in 

F.  B.    STEVENS 116 

(102) 


CUPOLAS,  CRANES,  ETC. 

DETROIT   FOUNDRY   EQUIPMENT  CO. ...   1 1 1 

FOUNDRY  PUBLICATIONS. 

THE  IRON   AGE 114 

THE  FOUNDRY no 

HISTORY  OF  IRON  IN  ALL  AGES 112 

PIG  IRON. 

CRAMER  &  BURT 105 

PICKANDS,  BROWN  &  CO 1 16 

GEO.-H.  HULL   &  CO 107 

FOSTER,  BACKMAN  &  HAWES  .  .op.  Title  Page. 

E.  B.  BLANDY 118 

PiCKANDS,  MATHER  &  CO 116 

DUNHAM,  KEEDY   &  CO 104 

IROOUOIS  FURNACE  CO op.  Title  Page. 

GAYLORD  IRON  CO 108 

PENINSULAR  IRON  CO 113 

OHIO  IRON  AND  STEEL  CO 106 

PINE  LAKE  IRON  CO 104 

F.  B.   STEVENS   116 

BLAST  FURNACES. 

OHIO  IRON  AND  STEEL  CO 106 

IROQUOIS   FURNACE  CO op.  Title  Page. 

PENINSULAR  IRON  CO 113 

GAYLORD  IRON   CO 108 

PINE  LAKE  IRON  CO 104 

(103) 


PINE  LAKE  IRON  COMPANY, 
"Champion" 


LflKE  SUPERIOR  CHflRCOflL  PIQ  IRON, 

No.  655  THE  ROOKERY, 

R.  M.  CHERRIE,  President.  /^l_ll^A<~r>     II   I 

H.  C.  DOLPH,  Treasurer.  OMIUALlU,    ILL. 

A.  H.  DUNHAM.  D.  V.  Ki:i:m. 


DUNHAM,  KEEDY  &  CO,, 
JPig  Iron, 

939  Rookery,  CHICAGO. 


TELEPHONE    695. 


MILLINGTON  WHITE  SAND  CO, 


SAND  FOR  OFFICE: 

126  WASHINGTON  STREET, 
ROOM    43, 


FURNACES, 

[ocoMAoSTrE"o  CHICAGO. 

PLASTERERS'  SAND. 

MINE  AT  MILLINGTON,  KENDALL  COUNTY,  ILLINOIS. 

(104) 


AMBROSE  CRAMKR.  CHARLES  S.  BURT. 


PHENIX  BUILDING, 
CLARK  AND  JACKSON  STREETS, 

Chicago,  111. 


/ 


Pig  Iron, 

Ingot  Copper, 

Sheet  Copper, 
Spelter, 

Iron  Ores, 

Wire  t^ope 


(•05) 


THOS.  H.  WELLS,  President. 
JOHN  C.  WICK,  Vice-President. 


F.  H.  WICK,  Treasurer. 

R.  BENTLEY,  Sec'y  and  Gen'l  Mgr, 


MARY    FURNACE 

THE 

Ohio  Iron  &  Steel  Co. 

LOWELL VILLE,  OHIO, 

MANUFACTURERS  OF  PIC  IRON. 

SPECIALTY: 

AMERICAN  SCOTCH  FOUNDRY  IRON. 
BRAND,  MARY  OHIO  SCOTCH. 


THE  OHIO  IRON  &  STEEL  CO, 


Believing  the  trade  will  be  interested  in 
the  great  progress  made  in  producing  in 
the  United  States  a  Foundry  Iron  in  every 
respect  equal  to  the  Imported  Scotch,  we 
give  herewith  comparative  analyses  of  four 
well-known  brands  of  Imported  Scotch  and 
our  No.  i  Mary  Ohio  Scotch  Foundry  Iron. 
We  challenge  comparison  of  these  analy- 
ses. Many  inferior  Irons  are  to-day  being 
put  on  the  market  and  called  "Ohio  Scotch" 
Foundry,  and  in  many  cases  have  been  sold 
to  our  customers  with  intent  to  deceive. 

Please  ask  for  "Mary  Ohio  Scotch,"  and 
see  that  you  get  it ;  and  demand  an  analy- 
sis with  every  order,  if  you  are  in  doubt. 

Respectfully, 
THE  OHIO  IRON  &  STEEL  CO., 


NO.  1  M 

Metallic  Iron 
Silicon  .... 
Graphite     .  . 
Combined  Car 

ARY  ( 

HIO  SCOTCH 

92.01 
3-15 
2.97 

.25 

bon  .   . 

Phosphorus  . 
Sulphur 

•425 

.018 

1.  20 

100.023 

IMPORTED 

SCOTCH. 

Colt- 

OU-nw 

Cum- 

loam 

Metallic  Iron 

•  9'-34 

800 

90-65 

92.177 

Silicon      .   .   . 

•    2-93 

2  021 

2-93 

1.68 

Graphite     .   . 

•    3-M 

2.147 

290 

2.99 

Comb.  Carbon 

.      .40 

.76 

•75 

Phosphorus   . 

.      .628 

1.  121 

1.  12 

.642 

Sulphur  .  .   . 

.      .048 

•C37 

•03 

.021 

Manganese    . 

.    1.08 

J-9>5 

I-5I 

1.74 

Copper     .  .   . 
Titanium    .   . 

$ 

99.566 

99.921 

IOO.OO    IOO.OO 

A  <  :  i :  ;v  i  .-*  s 

Piekands,  Brown  &  Co.,  Chicago,  111. 

Piekands,  fflathep  &  Co.,  Cleveland,  Ohio. 

N.  S.  BaFtlett  &  Co.,  Boston  and  Nem  York. 

(106) 


PIG  ifrofl.  COK;E 

m 
GEO,  H,  HULL  S  Co,, 


LOUISVILLE,  KY. 


BRANCHES: 

44  WALL  STREET,  201  EAST  GERMAN  STREET, 

NEW  YORK.  BALTIMORE. 

22  LACLEDE  BUILDING,  556  THE  ROOKERY, 

ST.   LOUIS.  CHICAGO. 


CORRESPONDENCE  SOLICITED. 

\Ve  are  specially  prepared  to  help  out  found- 
ers -who  are  having  trouble  with  their  mixtures. 

Our  aim  is  to  furnish  only  material  of  su- 
perior quality. 


COAL,. 

(107) 


GAYLORD  IRON  CO, 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 


Lal^e  ^uperioi1  Charcoal  pig  toon 


Special  attention  given  to  the  manufacture   of   Iron 
for  malleable  purposes. 


(108) 


THE  LARGEST  AND  MOST  RELIABLE  FOUNDRY 
SUPPLY  HOUSE  IN  THE  WORLD. 


THE  S  OBERMAYER  COMPANY, 


,    OHIO, 

MANUFACTURERS 

poundry  pacings, 


India  Silver  Leac* 

and   Plumbago, 


AND  GENERAL 


FOUNDRY  SUPPLIES  AND  EQUIPMENTS, 


Molders'  Tools,  Fire  Brick,  Cupola  Blocks,  Etc. 


We  keep  in  stock  and  MANUFACTURE  everything  needed  in 
Brass  or  Iron  Foundry  (except  metal  and  fuel). 

WRITE  FOR  CATALOGUE.  No  Charge  for  TRIAL  Samples. 

(109) 


THE  FOUNDRY 


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Published  on  the  Tenth  of  each  Month  and  Devoted  to  the  Inter 
ests  of  the  whole 

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THE  RECOGNIZED  ORGAN  OF  THE 

STOVE,  BENCH,  MACHINERY,  STEEL,  CAR  AND 
BRASS  FOUNDRY  INTERESTS. 


On  the  mixing,  melting  and  the  most  improved  methods  of  molding  and 

pouring  metals  of  all  kinds,  by  the  most  able  writers  on  Foundry 

subjects,  will  be  found,  from  time  to  time,  in  its  columns. 


Every   Foundry   Proprietor.   Superintendent,    Foreman,    Holder,  Melter 

and  Core-maker  should  take  it  if  he  desires  to  keep 

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172  Griswold Street,  DETROIT,  MICH. 

(no) 


DETROIT  FODRDRY  EHUIPH1ENT  GO. 


OFFICE  AND  WORKS :  Cor.  Michigan  Ayenne  and  D.  &  B.  C.  R.  R. 
CHICAGO :  62  West  Jacteon  street.  NEW  YORK :  47|Cedar  Street. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 


THE  WHITING  PATENT  CUPOLA. 

Am  Established  Success  !     lit  ust  all  over  the  Country  I     Made  In  Tuiehe  Sizes  ! 

The  Most  Economical  and  Substantial  Cupola  Made  , 


Jib  and  Traveling.  Hand  and  Power. 

r^AorvEjs. 

Geared,  Hand  and  Reservoir  Ladles  of  all  Sizes  and  Capacities. 


Tumblers.  Trucks,  Sand  Sifters,  Foundry  Elevators,  Etc. 

Sole  makers  of  WHITING'S  PATENT  CAR,  WHEEL,  FOUNDRY  SYSTEM 
and  complete  Foundry  Outfits.    Write  for  Estimates. 

(in) 


MamlMHreoflroninflllflgBS, 

AND  PARTICULARLY  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  FROM  COLONIAL  TIMES  TO  1891. 

ALSO  A  SHORT  HISTORY  OP  EARLY  COAL  MINING  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  AND  A  FULL  ACCOUNT 

OF  THE  INFLUENCES  WHICH  LONG  DELAYED  THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  ALL 

AMERICAN  MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES, 


JVJ. 

Secretary  and  General  Manager  of  The  American  Iron  and  Steel  Association  for  Twenty  Years,  from  1872  to  1892. 


In  One  Volume,  Royal  Octavo,  574  Pages,  Large  Type,  Good  Paper,  Well  Printed, 
Best  Cloth  Binding,  Gilt  Title. 


SECOND  EDITION,  THOROUGHLY  REVISED  AND  GREATLY  ENLARGED. 


Sold  Only  at  the  Office  of  the  American   Iron  and  Steel  Association. 

PRICE,  SEVEN  DOLLHRS  HND  FIFTY  CENTS. 


I  now  offer  to  Iron  and  Steel  Manufacturers,  the  officers  of  Public 
Libraries  and  others,  a  second  edition  of  this  work  in  a  handsome  volume 
of  574  pages,  including  132  pages  of  historical  details  not  found  in  the 
first  edition.  The  whole  book  has  been  printed  from  new  type. 

It  is  respectfully  suggested,  in  order  to  save  correspondence,  that 
orders  for  the  History  be  accompanied  by  checks  or  money  orders,  payable 
to  my  order.  The  book  will  be  forwarded  promptly,  encased  in  a  paper 
box.  It  will  be  sent  at  my  cost  for  expressage  or  postage,  and  care  will  be 
taken  that  it  be  received  in  good  condition.  It  is  now  ready  for  delivery. 

Address.  JAMES  M.  SWANK, 

No.  261  South  Fourth  Street,  PHILADELPHIA,  PA. 

(112) 


T.  H.  EATON,  President.  ROBERT  I,EETE,  Vice-Pres't. 

SOLON  HURT,  Sec'v  and  Treas. 


THE  PEfllJiSUltflH  IHOJI  GO. 


MANUFACTURERS  OF 


Charcoal  Pig  Iron 

FOR  CAR  WHEEL,  MALLEABLE  &  FOUNDRY  USE, 

FROM  LAKE  SUPERIOR  ORES, 
DETROIT,  MICH. 

Peerless  Facing  Mills. 

Our  manufactures  are  Peerless  in  all  that  this  word  implies.    Specialists 

and  Experts  in  the  manufacture  of  such  materials  as  will  aid  in 

producing  the  Finest,  Brightest  and  Smoothest  Castings. 


PARTICULAR  ATTENTION  PAID  TO  STOVE  PLATE  AND  RETURN  FACINGS. 

We  are  originators  of  the  best  STOVE  PLATE  FACINGS  now  In  use. 


DIRECT  IMPORTERS  AND  REFINERS  OF 

Silver  Leads,  Graphite  or  Plumbago, 

FOUNDRY  FACINGS,  BLACKINGS  AND  FOUNDRY  SUPPLIES. 
IRON    AND    BRASS   FOUNDRIES   COMPLETELY    EQUIPPED. 

No  ('barer  for  Trial  Sample-..     Send  fur  Illiislrnlril  Catalogue  and  Fritr  I.W. 

THE  CH1CRGO  FOUNDRY  SUPPLY  CO.,        CHICRGO,  ILL. 

8  (H3) 


THE  IRON  AGE. 


A  Heviem  of  the  Hardware,  ip0n  and  Metal  Trades. 


PUBLISHED  WEEKLY,  SEMI-MONTHLY  AND  MONTHLY. 


The  position  of  THE  IRON  AGE  is  indicated  in  these  facts: 

It  has  for  thirty-eight  years  been  a  leader  among  trade  journals,  and 
is  the  representative  paper  of  the  Iron  and  Steel,  Hardware  and  Metal 
interests. 

It  has  grown  from  a  four-page  sheet,  with  few  advertisements,  until 
its  weekly  issue  contains  from  forty-five  to  sixty  pages  of  reading  matter, 
and  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  pages  of  advertisements. 

Its  editorial  contents  have  kept  pace  with  the  progress  of  manufacture 
and  the  needs  of  the  trade,  each  issue  having  important  illustrated  articles, 
special  contributions,  telegraph  and  cable  advices,  etc. 

It  circulates  in  all  parts  of  the  country  and  in  foreign  lands,  having 
a  greater  circulation  at  home  and  abroad  than  the  combined  circulation 
of  all  of  its  competitors. 

The  reason  for  its  great  circulation  is,  that  without  regard  to  expense 
the  publisher  endeavors  to  make  the  paper  useful  to  its  readers,  adding 
new  features  as  the  need  or  opportunity  may  suggest. 


SUBSCRIPTION    RATES. 


Weekly  Edition,  issued  every  Thursday  morning,  $4.50  a  Year. 

Semi-Monthly  Edition,  first  and  third  Thursdays,  with  the 
Hardware  Bulletin  for  the  second,  fourth  and  fifth 
Thursdays,  .  2.30  a  Year. 

Monthly  Edition,  first  Thursday  in  the  month,  with  the 
Hardware  Bulletin  for  the  second,  third,  fourth  and  fifth 
Thursdays,  1.15  a  Year. 

("4) 


L.  K.  OVERMAN.  W.  J.  COOK. 

L.E.  OVERMAN  &  CO., 

138  JACKSON  STREET, 

PHEN.X  BU.LD.NG.  CHICAGO, 

GENERAL  SALES  AGENTS  FOR  THE 

McClure  Coke  Co. 

PITTSBURGH,  PA., 

AND  SHIPPERS  OF  THE  HIGHEST  GRADES  OF 

Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Illinois 


The  product  of  the  McClure  Coke  Co.'s  ovens  is  exclusively  from  the 
famous  Connellsville  vein  of  Coal,  and  is  of  the  highest  standard  of 
excellence  for  Foundry  purposes  (for  which  they  burn  72-hour  coke 
only),  and  for  Blast  Furnace  use.  The  makers  of  the  highest  grades  of 
iron  and  steel  produced  in  the  world  are  using  the  "McClure"  Coke, 
because  of  its  evenness  and  reliability.  We  gladly  quote  delivered  prices, 
and  will  make  every  effort  to  fulfill  the  wishes  of  consumers  of  Coke,  if 
they  will  tell  us  of  their  wants. 

L.  E.  OVERMAN  <£  CO., 

138  Jackson  St.,  Phenix  Building:. 

CHICAGO. 

("5) 


ERE  is  a  little  girl  who  has  just  realized 
that  her  doll  is  stuffed  with  saw-dust. 
Many  a  man  realizes  the  same  fact  too 
late  in  life  to  recoup.     To  keep  out  of  the 
saw-dust  of  business  worry  and  annoyance, 
take  care  in  buying.     The  sub- 
scriber carries  an  extensive  line 
of   Pig  Iron   suitable  for   any 
mixture,   Facings  and  Black- 
ings of  superior  quality,  Fire 
Brick,  Cupola  Blocks,  Mold- 
ing Sand — our  own  pits — and  a  complete  line  of  Shovels,  Riddles 
and  Brushes.     In  short,  we  are  in  the  Foundry  Supply  business. 

F.  B.  STEVENS, 

74  Griswold  Street, 

WAREHOUSE:  HFTROIT     MICH 

1 1  and  1 3  Atwater  Street  West.  '  !  '  ' 

PICKANDS,  BROWN  &  Co., 
PIG  IRON  AND  IRON  ORE, 

1007,  1009  AND  101  I   ROOKERY  BUILDING, 

CHICAGO. 

PICKANDS,  MATHER  &  Co., 


Western  Reserve  Building,  CLEVELAND,  OHIO. 

-%*-%>• 

WHEELER     KURNACE     COMPANY. 

(116) 


When  you 
get  this 

Imprint  on  your  Lithographing  or  Printing 


We'll  guarantee  the  work  has  been  well  done — 

It's  good. 

We  are  thoroughly  equipped.  Our  work  is  as  good  as  that 
of  the  best  houses  in  the  United  States. 

When  you  need  anything  in  our  line  —  Fine  Lithographing, 
Wood  or  Process  Engraving,  Printing,  Binding,  Electrotyping — 
let  us  give  you  an  estimate.  You  will  find  our  prices  reason- 
able, and  our  work  FIRST  CLASS.  Our  address  is  334-338 
West  Green  Street,  Louisville,  Ky. 


(117) 


Pig  Iron 


Steel 


STRUCTURAL 
IRON  AND  STEEL 


Blooms 


E.  B.  BliflflDY, 

201 

EAST  GERMAN  ST., 

Baltimore,   -    Md. 


Billets 


Correspondence  Solicited  for 
All  Kinds  of  IRON  and  STEEL  PRODUCTS, 
CAR  WORKS  and  RAILROAD  SUPPLIES. 


Iron  Ore 


Coke 


(118) 


THE  LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

Santa  Barbara 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW. 


A     000  586  91 1 


